BOX SCORE | ARCHIVED AUDIO

CLEMSON, S.C. – Despite getting double-digit hits for the 44^th time this year, the Morehead State baseball team saw its season conclude Saturday with an 11-5 setback to No. 20 St. John's at the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
 
The Eagles wrapped up their OVC Tournament Championship season at 37-26, playing the most games in a season in program history.
 
The game was marred by a lightning/rain delay for 115 minutes in the eighth inning.

"We fell behind early today, and I thought we hit some balls on the button early," said hed coach Mike McGuire. "I am proud of how my guys battled. St. John's is a good club. They just made some better pitches than we did today and found some holes."

St. John's dotted the scoreboard first in the second stanza and made it 2-0 in the second on Wyatt Mascarella's solo round-tripper.

Morehead State nearly took a 3-2 lead in the third, but junior DH Niko Hulsizer had a would-be three-run homer taken away with a catch over the wall in centerfield.

" I thought that was a big turning point," said McGuire. "We could have had some momentum there, and (their center-fielder) Galazin made a great play to take one away from Niko."
 
The Eagles scored their first run in the bottom of the fourth when senior second baseman Braxton Morris beat out an infield grounder to start the mini rally. Later in the frame, senior third baseman Eli Boggess' infield single plated Morris.
 
But, the Red Storm pushed ahead 6-1 in the sixth on Mike Antico's three-run homer with two outs.
 
MSU rallied again with a three-spot in the bottom of the sixth thanks to six straight hits. Junior center-fielder Connor Pauly, Boggess and junior right-fielder Jake Hammon all had run-scoring singles in the frame.
 
A two-run long ball by Mascarella off senior reliever Kyle Cantu pushed the Red Storm advantage back to 9-4 in the seventh.
 
The game concluded the careers of seniors Morris, Boggess, Tyler Niemann, David Calderon, Cantu and JC Hatcher. Niemann, Calderon and Morris were a part of two regional times, the first players in program history to accomplish that feat, and they finished with 143 wins. That's the most by a four-year senior class in program history.
 
Morris finished with the most games played in program history as well at 227.
 
Today, the Eagles got multiple-hit games from Boggess, Morris and Niemann. Morris finished with 98 hits in 2018, coming up just one shy of tying the school single-season record.

Starter Garret Rogers only allowed four runs in five innings but was saddled with the setback.

"Our seniors are the winningest players in program history," McGuire concluded. "The four year guys have won more games than anyone, and even our two-year JUCO transfers have won more in two years than any player had. Our juniors have a chance to eclipse that next year, and we have the talent to do it and be right back here (at Clemson or another location) in a regional again."