Baseball sweeps Friday doubleheader over Austin Peay

PDF BOX SCORES (GAME 1 | GAME 2) | VIDEO ARCHIVE (GAME 1 | GAME 2) 

MOREHEAD. Ky. – Junior rightfielder Will Schneider hit a pair of home runs in game one and drove in six runs on the day, and junior centerfielder Ryan Kent totaled six hits as the Morehead State baseball team swept a doubleheader from Austin Peay (11-1 and 7-6) Friday at Allen Field.
 
The Eagles, who have now won five straight, improved to 26-18 overall and 12-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference with their fourth consecutive win against APSU. The Eagles also secured a series victory over the Govs for the third straight season. MSU upped its home record to 15-2 in 2016. Austin Peay slipped to 25-16 overall and 15-8 in the league.
 
MSU made a last-minute switch to its pitching rotation, moving game-three starter Patrick McGuff up to the top spot. Typical game-one starter Matt Anderson tossed game two with normal game-two starter Aaron Leasher getting one more day of rest following a complete-game 120+ pitch performance last Saturday at SIU Edwardsville.
 
 McGuff set the tone by going a career-best eight innings and only allowing four hits to improve to 4-3. Anderson (6-2) registered double-digit strikeouts for the fifth time this year and third straight start with 12 Ks. He upped his season total to 100, just eight shy of the MSU single-season mark held by Sean Hogan in 1991.
 
"Doubleheaders are a grind and aren't ideal really for any team, but we needed to avoid the weather, and I thought today was the best overall day we had put together all year," said head coach Mike McGuire. "We played well in all three phases, and to do that for 18 innings is a testament that our team was ready and wanted to win very badly today."
 
In the opener, MSU had a trip of multiple-run frames, including jumping on APS for four runs in their first at-bat. The Eagles also scored three times in the fifth and eighth innings. Schneider, who now leads the team with nine round-trippers, left the yard with a two-run shot in the fifth and circled the bases again with a three-run smash in the eighth. Kent reached base in eight of his nine plate appearances on the day, going 3-for-3 with two walks in the opener and 3-for-4 in the nightcap.
 
Junior third baseman Alex Stephens was 3-for-5 with three RBI in the first contest, connecting on a two-run single in the first frame and a run-producing double in the fifth.
 
MSU sped ahead 7-0 in the second game before the Govs mounted a furious middle and late-innings rally. Freshman shortstop Reid Leonard, who was 3-for-5, tallied RBI hits in the second and fourth stanzas.
 
The Govs scored three times in the fifth, added a solo tally in the seventh, and brought the game to within its final total in the eighth with two more.
 
Senior righty Tyler Keele entered the game with runners on first and third in the eighth and managed to get the final six outs for his sixth save.
 
Morehead State finished the day with 26 hits (14 in game one, 12 in game two). Freshman leftfielder Niko Hulsizer, Kent and Leonard recorded three-hit efforts in the second contest.
 
Austin Peay leftfielder Logan Gray had three hits in game two, including his 10th homer of the year. Game one starter Alex Robles (7-4) allowed eight runs in six frames, while game two starting pitcher Michael Costanzo (6-3) gave up seven runs (five earned) in just four innings.
 
The teams will attempt to play the series finale on Saturday. Rain is a major component of Saturday's forecast, and the game time is still set for 2 p.m. ET Check MSUEagles.com and Twitter (@MSUEagles) for schedule updates.