MOREHEAD, Ky. – Stepping between the line at Allen Field for the first time this season, Morehead State baseball made the most of its first opportunity to play in front of a home crowd as several Eagles authored career afternoons en route to evening the series with rival Marshall.
In a game featuring numerous innings with a crooked number hung on the scoreboard, Morehead State's seven-run seventh inning and its follow-up three-run eighth pushed the Eagles past the Thundering Herd 13-10 Saturday.
The Eagles' victory evened the three-game split-venue series at a game apiece as Morehead State improved to 3-6 on the year while Marshall fell to 1-1.
Pounding out a season-best 15 hits, five Eagles recorded their first multi-hit games of the year while three freshmen,
Jackson Feltner,
Jacob Ferry, and
Ryley Preece, each collecting the first multi-hit effort of their careers. Feltner also added his first career multi-RBI game while Ferry and Preece each collected their first career hits.
Senior backstop
Jack Gardner fashioned a career-best game in an Eagle uniform as he collected his first career multi-homer game while scoring a career-best four runs and tying a career-high with five RBI.
On the mound, redshirt sophomore
Zach Miller picked up his first victory as an Eagle with freshman
Grant Herron recording his first career save as the two came out of the pen to nail down the Morehead State victory.
Morehead State and Marshall conclude their series with a rubber match tomorrow afternoon in Huntington, W. Va. The game features a 1 p.m. ET first pitch time and airs on CUSA TV.
HOW IT HAPPENED
B1: Hitting his first of two long balls on the afternoon, Jack Gardner brought home Bryce Hensor, who doubled into the rightfield corner to open the inning, with a towering shot towards the Allen Field scoreboard in leftfield.
T3: Marshall's Peter Hutzal opened the Thundering Herd's scoring with a home run to right before Marshall added another run with the benefit of an Eagle error.
B4: Stepping to the plate for the second time, Gardner tied the game with a solo shot to rightfield.
T5: Reaching base via a one-out triple into the rightfield corner, Hutzal raced home on a wild pitch before Marshall added another two runs on a Ryan Leitch homer to center.
T6: After a pair of Thundering Herd doubles put two men in scoring position, Geordan Blanton brought home a run on a groundout to second base.
T7: Marshall added another run to expand its lead as Zach Inskeep homered to straightaway centerfield.
B7: With runners on second and third, Hensor laid down a push bunt into no man's land on the right side of the infield to bring home a run as he beat out the bunt for an infield single. With the bases loaded, Gardner was hit by a pitch to plate another run before Arthur Sells drove home two more with a single back through the box. With the bases loaded once more, Cole Becker drew his second walk of the inning to plate another. The final two runs came in on a wild pitch and subsequent throwing error to push the Eagles' run tally in the frame to seven.
T8: Behind back-to-back extra-base hits, Marshall produced another run with a Blanton double down the leftfield line.
B8: Gardner drove in his fifth RBI of the afternoon as he reached on a fielder's choice in the inning as he and Stephen Hill both scored on Jackson Feltner's double of the centerfield wall.
T9: Marshall tallied its final two runs off the bat of Leitch who homered to center.
NOTABLE
- Jack Gardner set or tied multiple career-highs Saturday, collecting his first career multi-homer game, scoring a career-best four runs, and driving in a career-high-tying five runs.
- Six Eagles recorded multi-hit efforts Saturday as three Eagles recorded their first career multi-hit games with Jacob Ferry and Ryley Preece each collecting their first career hits as part of multi-hit days.
- The Eagle pitching staff racked up six punchouts Saturday, continuing a streak of 10 games with at least six strikeouts, a streak that dates back to last season.
- Grant Herron recorded his first career save Saturday after picking up his first career victory Tuesday at No. 1 Lousiville. Over the last 11 seasons, he is the only freshman to accomplish both feats within his first four career appearances.
