By Hunter Hurst, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Looking to salvage the series, the Morehead State baseball team took the field for the second time Saturday in game two of the doubleheader against SEMO and dropped the series finale on a walk-off by the Redhawks for the second straight night.
Jarrett Miller starred in long relief for Morehead State in the series finale. The senior right-hander kept the Redhawks off balance, giving up only one hit and one walk in four shutout innings. Miller is tied for fifth in the country in appearances on the season (23), and has been an extremely effective option out of the bullpen for
Mik Aoki in 2022.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, Morehead State jumped on top in the second, as
Alex Jacobs tripled to lead off the inning and scored on a groundout by
Nick Gooden.
Chase Vinson doubled to score another before a
Ryley Preece single plated Vinson and
Colton Becker to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead. A bases loaded walk plated a run for SEMO in the bottom half, but
John Sherman got out of the jam to end the inning.
Roman Kuntz drew a walk to open the third, advanced to third on a single by
Alex Jacobs and then scored on a sacrifice fly by
Nick Gooden. Jacobs later came around to score on a single from
Isaias Guzman. SEMO got both of those runs back in the bottom half on a two-run homer by Andrew Keck, making the score 6-4 after three.
Two Redhawk solo shots in the fourth tied the game 6-6, but Morehead State took the lead in the seventh on an RBI single by
Colton Becker, who later came into score on an error to make the score 8-6.
SEMO tied the game in the eighth, as Lincoln Andrews hit his third homer of the doubleheader to tie the game at eight a side.
John Bakke (L, 2-3) worked a scoreless ninth, but Brett Graber took him deep with two outs in the tenth to walk off the Eagles for the second straight night.
With the loss, the Eagles dropped to 16-22 on the season and 5-7 in the OVC. Their next action comes Tuesday against a familiar foe: former OVC rival Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, before returning home next weekend for three vs. UT Martin.