ST. CHARLES, Mo. --The Morehead State Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed from there on the way to a 9-5 victory against the Lindenwood Lions on Friday.
John Bakke (4-2) started on the mound and picked up the win for Morehead State (20-12, 6-1 OVC). The left-hander went six innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on eight hits, allowing two walks and striking out six. Freshman Luke Lyman also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing one shutout inning while allowing no hits.
At the plate, the Eagles were led by junior Roman Kuntz, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a pair of RBI doubles. Chase Vinson and Colton Becker both homered, while Jackson Feltner, Nick Gooden, Carter Owens, and Ryley Preece all notched multi-hit games in the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Morehead State plated two runs off of Lindenwood (MO) pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of Kuntz and the other on an RBI single from Gooden.
The Lions then gained ground, narrowing the lead to 2-1 until the Eagles expanded their advantage in the fourth. Morehead State scored three times, with an output that included back-to-back homers from Becker and Vinson and an RBI single from Carter Sakamoto, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-1.
Lindenwood (MO) narrowed Morehead State's lead to 5-3 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 7-3 in the seventh inning. The Eagles got back-to-back run-scoring doubles from Jackson Feltner and Kuntz to pick up a couple of runs.
Morehead State held the Lions without a run before their offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. The Eagles drove in two runs when a single from junior Ryley Preece brought home Vinson and senior Carter Sakamoto, bringing the Morehead State advantage to 9-3. Lindenwood put two runs on the scoreboard in the eighth, but the Eagles still coasted to the 9-5 win after a scoreless ninth from Luke Lyman.
GAME NOTES
» Bakke struck out six Lions hitters.
» The Eagles power output was led by Kuntz, who picked up two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the fourth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Morehead State grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» Five Eagles had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Eagles out-hit the Lions at a 13-11 clip.
» Morehead State went 4-for-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position.
Morehead State looks to tie its season-high eight game win streak on Saturday vs. the Lions.
