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4
Murray State MUR 19-23, 13-9 OVC
5
Winner Morehead State MOR 30-17, 13-9 OVC
Murray State MUR
19-23, 13-9 OVC
4
Final
5
Morehead State MOR
30-17, 13-9 OVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Murray State MUR 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 4 7 1
Morehead State MOR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 5 10 0

W: Stambaugh, Dalton (6-2) L: COOK, Braydon (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations

Baseball Claims Dramatic 5-4 Walk-Off Win to Open Murray State Series

BOX SCORE

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State baseball team's offense was stymied by Murray State pitching for eight innings Friday night, but fortunately the Eagles had one great inning up their sleeves.

Senior center-fielder Connor Pauly's two-run bouncing single right past the pitcher's mound and into center-field proved to be the game-winning hit as the Eagles rallied to defeat the Racers 5-4 at Allen Field. Morehead State (30-17) secured its fifth consecutive 30-win season and moved to 13-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"I am proud of our team for their resiliency," said head coach Mike McGuire. "We didn't have much going for us in the first eight innings, but we were patient and got it done in the ninth."

The ninth inning rally started with a 4-1 deficit, but junior second baseman Ryan Layne drew an 11-pitch walk off Racer (19-23/13-9 OVC) closer Braydon Cook. After a foul out, junior designated hitter Jon Burghardt clobbered a mammoth two-run home deep into the night over the right-field fence to make it 4-3, his second long ball in the last two games and his ony two this year.

Freshman right-fielder Zach Boyd and senior shortstop Reid Leonard were plunked with pitches from Cook and moved up a base each into scoring position with a wild pitch. Pauly, whose single was his team-best 71st hit of 2019, fought off several foul balls before punching the game-clincher back up the box to easily score Boyd and Leonard (from second).

Murray State gained the 4-1 advantage thanks to two solo homers by shortstop Jaron Robinson (in the fifth and seventh frames) and a two-run homer by Jordan Cozart in the top of the ninth.

Eagle junior lefty Dalton Stambaugh (6-2) registered his second complete-game effort in as many weeks, tossing the full nine and allowing seven hits and the four runs but striking out nine.

Pauly, Leonard and junior third baseman Dom Peroni each totaled two hits as the Eagles finished with 10 on the day. Sophomore first baseman Stephen Hill clubbed an RBI double off the wall to make it a 2-1 game in the eighth inning.

The teams will attempt to play game two Saturday. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. ET.
 
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