RICHMOND, Ky. – The Morehead State baseball team's rough patch continued Tuesday, falling to rival Eastern Kentucky 6-3 at Earle Combs Stadium. The Eagles (16-23, 5-7 OVC) fought back from an early deficit and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but couldn't complete the comeback, losing their fourth game in a row.
Morehead State threatened early, as Ryley Preece singled to open the contest, but was caught stealing at second. Jackson Feltner then sent a line drive to the gap, but was thrown out at second after barely coming off the bag on the slide in. Trevor Callahan escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half with an inning-ending strikeout.
Following that scoreless first, EKU plated four runs (three unearned) in the home second to take an early 4-0 lead. Matt Bettio limited the damage there to end the inning. The Colonels pushed two more across in the fourth to make the score 6-0.
Morehead State began to battle back in the fifth, as Isaias Guzman drove in Nick Gooden from second on a line-drive double to left centerfield. Guzman now has a hit in 11 of his last 12 games, driving in 15 runs in that period.
Two more runs crossed in the sixth for the Eagles, as Roman Kuntz floated a single into no-man's land in shallow left to score Brody Shoupe from third. Kuntz scored on a throwing error following an infield single from Alex Jacobs to make the score 6-3. Jacobs finished with two hits and extended his on-base streak to 37 games, a streak that now leads the OVC in 2022. He also has a five-game hit-streak as well and has a hit in 29 of his last 30 games.
Morehead State threatened again in the ninth, bringing the tying-run to the plate with one out, but couldn't cash in in the end, dropping the mid-week clash. The Eagles had opportunities and even out-hit the Colonels, but left seven runners stranded in total.
Morehead State returns home to Allen Field this weekend for a three-game set with UT Martin, as they look to get back on track in OVC play. EKU will then make the trip to Allen Field on May 3 for the second game of the annual home & home series between the long-time rivals.
