BOX SCORES (GAME 1 | GAME 2)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Junior outfielder
Chase Vinson drove in eight of the Eagles' total runs Saturday, including two home runs in game two, and the Morehead State baseball team pulled off another late-inning rally to gain a split of the doubleheader at Eastern Illinois Saturday. The Eagles fell 5-3 early but rebounded with five runs in the final two frames to win 9-8 in game two in the first games at EIU's on-campus Coaches Stadium following seven previous Panther "home" games at other locations in 2022.
Morehead State moved to 20-24 overall and 9-8Â in the OVC. Vinson upped his home run total to eight this year, third on the team. Sophomore center-fielder
Ryley Preece also launched a home run in game two to tie teammate
Jackson Feltner for the team lead with 11, while grad student left-fielder
Alex Jacobs extended his reached-base streak to 42 games.
The nightcap saw MSU trying to dig out of a 7-1 deficit after three frames. But Vinson struck for a three-run long ball in the fourth. Trailing 8-4 in the eighth, Vinson launched his second clout of the day to right field to pull his team to within 8-6.Â
The Eagles completed the rally in the top of the ninth as
Roman Kuntz made it 8-7 with an RBI double to score
Ashton Roy. A ground out by Jacobs pushed the tying run across, and
Nick Gooden then singled home
Logan Castleman with the eventual winning run.
Reliever
Jarrett Miller secured the final four outs, including striking out top batter Ryan Ignoffo, to secure the win and improve to 4-2. Credit also went to
Joe Rotkis, who tossed 3.0 innings, didn't allow a run, with just two hits surrendered.
While Vinson collected most of the the RBI, Gooden had a season-high four hits and
Colton Becker had three of the Eagles' 16 hits. Preece and Jacobs had a pair of hits.
In game one, Vinson got the Eagles on the board first with a two-run double in the second inning, scoring Becker and
Isaias Guzman.
EIU answered with a three-spot in the bottom of the inning, including a two-run homer. The Panthers increased the lead to 5-2 in fifth with another two-run homer off Eagle starter
Luke Helton (2-5).
The Eagles made the Panthers sweat a bit in the ninth, finally chasing starter Trevor Nicholson after eight frames. Off the first reliever, Jacobs drew a walk before Gooden singled. Following an out, Guzman and Vinson waited on walks themselves to make it 5-3. But, reliever Hayden Birdsong ended up with his first save with a pair of game-ending strikeouts.
Helton recorded six strikeouts and allowed 10 hits in his first complete-game - also giving the Eagles back-to-back complete efforts by Eagle pitchers. Nicholson (5-0) struck out 11, only allowing three of the Eagles' four hits.
The teams are slated to wrap up the series with a 2 p.m. ET game Sunday.
