Baseball Grabs Big Early Lead, Then Rallies Late for 15-14 Victory Over Ohio

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MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State baseball team grabbed an early 8-0 lead, then watched as visiting Ohio scored 14 of the next 15 runs in the game, before rallying itself for six scores in the final two at-bats as the Eagles pulled out a 15-14 victory over the Bobcats Tuesday at Allen Field.
 
Senior centerfielder Ryan Kent recorded the final two of his team-best five RBI with a single up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. The hit pushed junior third baseman Eli Boggess and junior second baseman Braxton Morris across the plate for the winning margin as the Eagles improved to 29-16 overall and 20-4 at home. Kent tallied the game-winning hit for the second straight game.
 
"We showed a lot of intestinal fortitude on the mound and at the plate tonight," said head coach Mike McGuire. "I was very proud that we kept fighting and pulled out this win."
 
Kent also tallied a two-run single in the first inning to give his team a 5-0 lead and had his third RBI on a bizarre play in the seventh which ended up bringing two runs home.
 
With two outs and runners on second and third, Ohio pitcher Jake Rudnicki threw a pitch up over Kent's head. He ducked, but the ball hit the bat anyway and rolled in front of the plate. Sophomore Trevor Snyder raced home and barely beat a throw by Rudnicki, but the throw sailed wide and freshman Brody Shoupe trotted home as well on what was effectively a bunt single. That made the score 14-12.
 
On the mound, junior righty Kyle Cantu (3-0) shut down the Bobcat offense, which ended up with six home runs and 19 hits, for just one hit in 2.1 innings to collect the win. Freshman hurler Dom Masullo appeared in his third straight game and nailed down the final out for his first career save.
 
"Kyle and Dom have not gotten a whole lot of chances this year, but they came through tonight and both pitched well. Dom has really been pitching well this past week, and Kyle kept them off balance tonight when we needed someone to step up out of the bullpen."
 
Ohio closer Jake Roehn, who had 10 saves entering the night, gave up the go-ahead run and fell to 3-3 with the loss.
 
The Eagles jumped on top 8-0 on the strength on sophomore Niko Hulsizer's nation-leading 21^st home run in the first inning, a two-run blast that flew over the scoreboard in deep left field. Junior first baseman Tyler Niemann made it 8-0 in the second on a three-run homer, his eighth round-tripper.
 
The Bobcats clawed back into it with four runs in the third and five in the fourth, finally taking a 10-9 lead in the sixth. They added four more in the seventh. Michael Klein, who started on the mound but only lasted four batters, nailed two home runs. Rudy Rott also connected on two home runs as both notched five hits.
 
Kent finished 3-for-5, while the Eagles' leading hitter, Boggess, tallied a four-hit day. Niemann and senior rightfielder Will Schneider had two hits apiece.
 
Morehead State's next action is at Jacksonville State this weekend. The three-game set begins on Friday at 7 p.m. ET in Oxford, Ala.