MOREHEAD, Ky. – Offense proved to be the name of the game on Sunday as a combined 29 runs crossed the plate in the doubleheader between Morehead State and the visiting Eastern Illinois Panthers. The two clubs also registered 35 hits for the day.
The first contest was a back-and-forth affair with multiple lead changes as EIU took game one, 13-8. The second half of the doubleheader ended 8-0 after five innings as Eastern Illinois stretched its win streak over MSU to 12 straight games.
Several Eagles had career days at the plate, led by a 2-for-4 outing from sophomore
Taylor Rhea who also pitched in a career-high three RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
- EIU was able to take advantage early with a bases-loaded walk and sacrifice bunt that scored a run apiece in the first.
- Sophomore Taylor Rhea brought home an Eagle runner in the second on an RBI single that cut the lead in half.
- The Panthers answered back in the top of the third with a 2-RBI homer and an RBI groundout.
- Morehead State made an impressive comeback in the fifth as it plated five runners to take the lead.
- Eastern Illinois continued its offensive output in the sixth as the Panthers retook the lead, 8-6, off back-to-back home runs.
- MSU once again did what it does best as it used excellent baserunning (and a couple of EIU errors) to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning.
- EIU took its final lead of the game after loading the bases in the seventh to set up five more runs for the visitors as they would eventually secure a 13-8 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2
- The second game of the doubleheader looked to be a pitchers' battle early but Eastern Illinois cracked the door open in the fourth off a pair of sac flies and a fielding error by MSU that brought home three.
- The Panthers scored the rest of its runs in the next inning including yet another home run for EIU's first baseman to account for the 8-0 final score after five innings.
NOTABLE
- Morehead State stole nine bases in the first game of the day, the most since stealing eight against Alcorn State on Feb. 18, 2017, and the second-most in a single game in program history.
- MSU's 11 hits in the first contest matched a season-high for the Eagles with seven different batters each earning a hit.
- Junior Peyton Slater went a combined 3-for-5 on the day with one run and one RBI after previously having had only one hit all season. She is also now tied for sixth in MSU history in times hit by pitch after being it for the 18th time in her career in the day's first game.
- Sophomores Kirya Kingery and Trinity Spear had career-highs on the base paths, both stealing three bases in game one.
UP NEXT
Morehead State will take a week break before hitting the road to take on OVC foe Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. The first game of the series is scheduled for March 13 at 5 pm ET with a doubleheader set to begin at 2 pm the following day.
