BOX SCORE (GAME 1) | BOX SCORE (GAME 2)

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Led by home runs in each game by freshman Ryley Preece, seven RBI on the day from fellow freshman Jackson Feltner and a grand slam off the bat of senior Jon Burghardt, Morehead State baseball swept the doubleheader from Austin Peay Friday and won its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference series.

The Eagles led 11-0 in the first three innings of game one and then held off a furious Gov rally to win 14-9 before invoking the one-year OVC run-rule (lead by 10 after 7 innings) by winning 12-1 in seven innings in game two.

Morehead State (15-12/6-3 OVC) won a series at APSU for the first time since 2015 and for just the third time since 1999 in staying in first place in the league standings. The Govs slipped to 10-19 overall and 7-8 in the league. Morehead State has also now won five consecutive weekend series dating back to March 5-7 versus Marshall.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME 1

- Following a bases loaded walk to senior right-fielder Ryan Layne, senior Burghardt uncorked the Eagles' first grand slam of the year and the first since the 2019 season to make it a 5-0 Eagle lead in the second frame.
- Senior third baseman Stephen Hill laced a ground-rule RBI double into the left field corner for a 6-0 lead before Feltner singled home two more.
- Preece nailed his third homer of the series in the third, a three-run smash, to make it 11-0 Eagles.
- Austin Peay scored seven times in the bottom of the fourth, including a grand slam of its own, to trim the MSU lead to 11-7. 
- An RBI single by Gino Avros in the seventh had the home team back to within 11-9.
- Hill provided some insurance in the ninth with an RBI single, and Feltner cranked a home run to put the Eagles on top 14-9.
- Reliever Cory Conway entered in the fifth inning to get the final out and then tossed the next 3.1 frames with only one allowed. Senior lefty John Bakke closed out the game with a perfect ninth.

NOTABLE - GAME 1

- Feltner recorded his first-ever 5 RBI game and the Eagles' third of that variety in 2021 as he was 3-for-4 at the plate. He also extended his reached-base streak to 16 games.
- Feltner now has a team-high 10 multi-hit games.
- Preece homered for the second straight game after knocking two over the fence in Thursday's loss. He finished with three hits as did senior second baseman Bryce Hensor. 
- Conway leads the Ohio Valley Conference with his six wins, all in relief. Conway made his 72nd career appearance with 68 being in relief. He needs just one more appearance to tie for second in all-time relief appearances in program history.
- Burghardt notched a career-best four RBI with his grand slam.
- Eight of the nine batters in the order scored at least one run in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME 2

- MSU jumped ahead 2-0 in the first as Hill ripped an RBI triple to the deepest part of the ballpark. Feltner then lifted a sac fly to score Hill.
- In the second, and following a score on a wild pitch by sophomore DH Alex Jacobs, Feltner laced an RBI double that scored Preece.
- MSU pulled ahead 9-0 with a five-spot in the fourth. Freshman shortstop Colton Becker singled on a bunt to score Jacobs, while Hensor nailed a two-run single.
- Preece's home run party continued then as he made it 9-0 with another two-run round-tripper.
- Hensor got into the act of homers with a solo shot to left center in the sixth. Almost immediately, Hill brought home the final Eagle tallies with a two-run homer himself.
- Austin Peay's lone run came off the bat of Malcolm Tipler, who recorded an RBI double in the fifth.

NOTABLE - GAME 2

- Eagle starter Luke Helton pitched the first five innings to record the win and improve to 3-1. Helton struck out seven Gov batters before giving way to Bakke, who worked the final two frames and was credited with his fourth save.
- Five of the top six batters in the order had multiple hits as Preece led the way with three and Feltner, Hensor, Hill and Jacobs had two each. 
- In the past seven games, Morehead State has notched 85 hits, averaging 12.1 per game.
- Preece and Feltner had incredible series stats. Preece batted .615 (8-of-13) with four home runs, nine RBI and a 1.583 slugging percentage. Feltner hit a team-best .727 (8-of-11) with seven RBI and a .714 on-base percentage to go along with a 1.091 slugging efficiency.
- Feltner now owns a team-best 17-game reached-base streak and an eight-game hitting streak, while Hill has reached safely in nine straight outings.

UP NEXT

Eastern Illinois visits next weekend for an OVC series slated to begin with a doubleheader Friday at Noon ET and a solo battle Saturday at 11 a.m. The teams are also set to play a single game Sunday that will not have OVC record implications.