ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- After tying the game three times, the Morehead State baseball team finally broke through and took the lead late on Saturday on the way to its eighth straight victory. The win tied the Eagles' longest winning streak of 2023.
Joe Rotkis (4-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Morehead State (21-12, 7-1 OVC), allowing just one run in 1.2 innings.
Grant Herron started the game and navigated through a pair of rough innings before settling in. Herron ended with five strikeouts, moving his team-leading total to 51 on the season, and ended up with a no decision.
Riley Bradshaw,
Luke Lyman, and
Jarrett Miller assisted Rotkis in shutting down Lindenwood to close it out.
Morehead State was paced offensively by multi-hit games from
Nick Gooden,
Colton Becker,
Carter Owens, and
Carter Sakamoto. Gooden drove in two runs to lead the team.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lindenwood got on the board first with a run in the second, but Morehead State tallied a run to tie the game at one in the fourth.
Colton Becker led off the inning with a single before stealing both second and third. He advanced home on a throwing error on his steal of third. The Lions made the score 2-1 in the fifth before a sac fly from
Ryley Preece tied the game once again.
A run crossed of Lindenwood against Rotkis in the sixth, but
Colton Becker led off the seventh with a single before getting all the way to third on a wild pitch.
Chase Vinson launched an RBI ground-rule double to score Becker, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and gave MSU the lead when he scored on Isaias' Guzman's sac fly.
MSU blew the game open in the eighth, as
Carter Sakamoto and
Ryley Preece both singled to start the inning.
Roman Kuntz drew a walk to load to bases before
Nick Gooden drove in a pair on a single. A throwing error allowed
Roman Kuntz to score and moved Gooden to third before he scored on Becker's sac fly. Lindenwood pushed across a run against Bradshaw, but he,
Luke Lyman, and
Jarrett Miller shut down the Lions to end the game.
GAME NOTES
- Becker moved his hitting streak to 10 games in the win. He stole two bases as well, moving him to a perfect 16-16 on the season.
- The Eagles out-hit the Lions at an 11-8 clip.
- Morehead State had two extra-base hits in the game.
- Morehead State hitters drew five walks in the game, including two from Sakamoto.
- Carter Sakamoto reached base four times in the game.
- Morehead State pitchers struck out nine Lindenwood Lions in the win.
Morehead State goes for the sweep in Sunday's finale. With a win, the Eagles would be the first team to win nine straight games since the 2017 MSU baseball team.
