Baseball rides offensive outburst to 26-7 win Sunday

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MOREHEAD. Ky. – Sophomore Tyler Niemann hit for the "cycle," juniors Ryan Kent and Jimmy Wright combined for 13 RBI, and the Morehead State baseball team set a school record by drawing 15 walks while cruising to a 26-7 series-clinching win over visiting UT Martin Sunday at Allen Field.
 
The Eagles improved to 21-16 overall and 8-7 in the OVC, while the Skyhawks fell to 10-26 overall and 4-14 in the league. The run total was a season-high and only two shy of the school record scored against Eastern Kentucky in 1977.
 
"We have been talking about how we haven't finished teams off lately," said Head Coach Mike McGuire. "I thought we set the tone early. We moved the lineup around a bit, and I thought everyone responded well. We also got to get some of the younger guys and reserves in for multiple plate appearances."
 
Niemann opened the scoring barrage with an RBI single in the first, part of a nine-run outburst by the hosts. He nailed an RBI triple later in the same frame, cranked a solo homer in the third, and finished off the cycle with a double to lead off the sixth. He concluded the day 4-for-6.
 
Wright collected a pair of two-run doubles and also drove in two more with a pair of sacrifice fly outs. Kent had three hits, including two RBI singles, and also collected RBIs on a two-run home run (third inning) fielder's choice ground out (second inning), bases loaded hit-by-pitch (sixth inning) and another ground out (eighth inning).
 
The offense pounded 23 hits, took advantage of four Skyhawk errors, and clipped the previous school-record for walks by one.
 
Freshman shortstop Reid Leonard and Niemann had four-hit days as Leonard also had four RBI. Junior rightfielder Will Schneider also recorded a multi-hit (2) and multi-RBI (2) outing.
 
The Eagles put up multiple runs in the first six frames, while UT Martin plated four in the third.
 
On the mound, five Eagle pitchers saw action. Starter Patrick McGuff allowed four runs in 2.2 innings before being relieved by junior lefty Curtis Wilson (1-4). He tossed 2.1 innings and surrendered just one run to be credited with his first Division I win. Freshman Jason Goe, sophomore David Calderon and senior Matt Elenbest also pitched.
 
Morehead State steps out of conference this week for single game at Ohio. First pitch Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. ET.