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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The first five Morehead State batters struck out at the plate against Eastern Kentucky Friday, but once the Eagle offense locked in, it was all uphill as MSU pounded out 18 hits en route to a 15-9 win at Allen Field.
Morehead State won for the 10th time in the last 11 games and improved to 15-6 overall and 6-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while the Colonels fell to 13-10 overall and 1-3 in the league.
Due to incoming weather, the teams will wrap up the series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. ET Saturday.
Junior third baseman
Eli Boggess led the outburst with a solo homer in the third to get his team on the board, and he went on to get four total hits and drive in a career-best six runs. Junior pitcher
Aaron Leasher allowed 10 hits, but struck out nine EKU hitters and got into the sixth inning with the lead to improve to 5-0.
"It was a rough start on the mound and at the plate, but I commend Aaron for pitching into the sixth inning there and giving us a chance to win. Once we got through the order, I felt we were very good at the plate in the final five or six innings," said head coach
Mike McGuire.
Eastern Kentucky's Jack Peikos, who ranked right behind Leasher for the best ERA in the conference, fanned the first five batters and didn't allow a hit until Boggess' homer. He finished allowing six runs and absorbed the loss to fall to 2-3.
"I think once we got through the order, we started to fight to get on top of the ball and strung some good at-bats together, and that was the key," McGuire added.
Junior second baseman
Braxton Morris, the Eagles' leading hitter for average, nailed three hits and drove in two runs, while five others (
Ryan Kent,
Will Schneider,
Trevor Snyder,
Niko Hulsizer and
Michael Patrick) all had two hits apiece.
Patrick's solo homer, his fourth of the year, cut the Eagle deficit to 4-2 in the fourth, and then Snyder delivered a two-run single to tie the game. Boggess' single to right field scored
Hunter Fain with the go-ahead run later that frame, and MSU never trailed again.
Morehead State also added a pair of runs in the sixth and tacked on six in the seventh.
Ben Fisher homered for the fifth straight game for EKU, and the Colonels also got homers from Alex Holderbach, Nick Howie and Logan Starnes. Fisher and Ryland Kerr had three hits apiece.
