MOREHEAD, Ky. – After three and a half innings of what looked to be a pitchers' duel, runs came in bunches for both Belmont and the Morehead State baseball team, but the Eagles (15-17, 5-2 OVC) prevailed and took the series opener 12-7.
Starter
Luke Helton (W, 2-4) took the ball for the Eagles and shut down the Bruins (21-12, 7-3 OVC) for the first four innings, holding the opposition scoreless through four. Helton was roughed up a bit in the fifth and sixth, giving up six runs over those two frames, but his solid start to the contest earned him his second win of 2022, and allowed MSU to take the lead early and hold it until the very end.
In the second inning,
Nick Gooden led off with a single to set the stage for
Chase Vinson, who blasted a two-run home run over the right field fence to give Morehead State a 2-0 lead early on.
Five runs crossed in the bottom of the fourth for Morehead State, including one on a shift-beating single by
Brody Shoupe to start the offensive barrage.
Ryley Preece then stepped in and tripled down the right field line, clearing the bases in the process. He then scored on an RBI groundout from
Jackson Feltner that gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Belmont didn't go away quietly though, cutting the score to 7-4 in the fifth on a two-run double and a two-run homer. Morehead State erased their work in the bottom half; however, as
Isaias Guzman smacked a two-run single before
Chase Vinson went deep again for his second two-run home run of the day and fifth of the season to make it 11-4.
Tommy Crider chased
Luke Helton in the sixth with a two-run homer, but
Jarrett Miller came on for him and struck out the side to end the inning with the score standing at 11-6. Following a scoreless two halves,
Chase Vinson (3-3, 2 HR, 5 RBI) kept his career day going with an RBI double down the right field line.The three-hit performance was VInson's second three-hit game of the season, his first coming against Eastern Michigan on March 5th.
One more run crossed for Belmont, but it was too little, too late as
John Bakke took the ball from Miller and slammed the door on the Bruins' comeback hopes in an inning and two-thirds of work. Bakke notched a couple of strikeouts in the non-save situation, bringing his K total to 41 on the year.
Game two of the final OVC series between the two rivals comes Friday at 5 p.m. ET.
Alex Kafka will take the ball for Morehead State, as they look to win their tenth straight series in the friendly confines of Allen Field. The game is not available on ESPN+, but live stats will be provided with a link available on the baseball schedule page.
