MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Facing the finale of the team's lone midweek of the season, Morehead State baseball collected six hits, including a double from freshman first baseman
Jackson Feltner, while the Eagle pitching staff racked up eight strikeouts against West Virginia at Monongalia County Ballpark Wednesday.
Feltner and senior
Ryan Layne each produced runs batted in for Morehead State before the Eagles ultimately succumb to the Mountaineers in the series finale, 4-2. With the result, Morehead State falls to 7-9 on the year while West Virginia improves to 7-5.
Four Eagle pitchers, sophomore
Matt Bettio, redshirt senior
Cory Conway, redshirt junior
John Bakke, and freshman
Grant Herron, combined for eight strikeouts, recording six or more punchouts for the 15th time in 16 games this season and the 28th time in the previous two seasons.
Following its two-game, midweek series with West Virginia, Morehead State continues non-conference play, facing its Ohio Valley Conference bye weekend this week. The Eagles travel to Norfolk State for a four-game set this weekend with a single game Friday, doubleheader Saturday, and series finale Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
T4: After working a leadoff walk against Mountaineer reliever Tyler Chadwick, Jack Gardner came around to score as Jackson Feltner split the right-center gap with a ball that one-hopped the fence for his third double and ninth RBI of the year.
B4: West Virginia took advantage of three hits, including a home run, and a sacrifice fly in the inning to take the lead by scoring three runs in the frame. Victor Scott collected the biggest of the inning's three hits, homering to right field.
T6: Getting opposite-field singles from Gardner and Feltner ahead of a pair of two-out walks drawn by Jacob Ferry and Ryan Layne, Morehead State scratched another run in the frame as Layne drew his two-out walk with the bases loaded.
B7: The Mountaineers added an insurance run in the seventh inning on a leadoff home run by Paul McIntosh.
NOTABLE
- Morehead State's pitchers struck out eight batters Wednesday after seeing the team's streak of 17 consecutive games with six or more punchouts. Wednesday's strikeout total marks the 28th time in 31 games under head coach Mik Aoki that the Eagle pitchers have struck out six or more hitters in a game.
- Reaching base with a hit by pitch in the third inning, Ryley Preece upped his reached base streak to eight games, having reached base safely in each of his eight starts this season.
- Picking up a double and a single Wednesday, Jackson Feltner recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the season, tying Preece and Jack Gardner for the team lead. Feltner also upped his own reached base streak to six games, just behind Preece's streak for the longest active Eagle streak.
