MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State baseball team roared back Sunday after dropping Saturday's series opener, sweeping the doubleheader and taking the series over Tennessee Tech to move to 5-1 in the OVC. Ryley Preece led the way with a three-homer day across two games. Exactly one year ago to the day (April 2, 2022), Preece had a three-homer game vs. Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, and matched it 365 days later.
GAME 1 | Morehead State 10, Tennessee Tech 7
Grant Herron was dominant in game one Sunday, striking out 10 Tennessee Tech hitters over five innings of work to help propel the Morehead State Eagles past the Golden Eagles 10-7.
In addition to his 10 strikeouts, Herron tossed five innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on four hits and walking four for Morehead State (14-12, 5-1 OVC). Senior Matt Bettio (1-0) also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing 1.2 shutout innings while allowing no hits. Bettio came in with the bases loaded and got the Eagles out of a jam. Jarrett Miller came out of the bullpen for the ninth inning for a scoreless frame, notching his sixth save of the season.
In the batter's box, the Eagles were paced by junior Ryley Preece, who went 4-for-4 on the day with two home runs, a walk and five RBI. Junior Jackson Feltner put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. Junior Roman Kuntz also helped out for Morehead State, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Morehead State managed to push across two runs in the inning thanks to great baserunning, as Ryley Preece scored on a wild pitch before Jackson Feltner trotted home in a designed delayed steal by Nick Gooden, who was at first base.
The Golden Eagles then tied the ballgame at two before the Eagles came back to reclaim their advantage in the fourth inning. Morehead State scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer off the bat of Preece, scoring Carter Owens and Isaias Guzman, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-2.
Morehead State's lead had disappeared by the time the seventh inning came around and turned into a 7-5 Tennessee Tech advantage, when the Eagles evened up the game at seven. The Eagles scored two runs off of Tennessee Tech pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of Kuntz.
With the game tied in the bottom of the eighth, Morehead State retook the lead. Isaias Guzman laid down a sacrifice bunt that gave Morehead State an 8-7 lead, before the three-run frame was punctuated by a two-run homer from Preece -- his second of the game -- that moved the Morehead State advantage to 10-7. The score remained 10-7 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles held on for the win.
GAME NOTES
» Herron struck out 10 Golden Eagles hitters.
» Preece drove in five runs for Morehead State, the second time he's done so this season.
» The Morehead State pitching staff combined to strike out 13 Tennessee Tech hitters.
» The Eagles out-hit the Golden Eagles at a 12-9 clip.
» Morehead State went 3-for-10 (.300) with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers limited Tennessee Tech to just 2-for-15 (.133) with runners in scoring position.
» The Eagles drew five walks from Tennessee Tech pitching.
GAME 2 | Morehead State 4, Tennessee Tech 3
After two high scoring games, a pitcher's duel capped a wildly competitive series between Morehead State and Tennessee Tech, as MSU took the rubber match and the series in Sunday's finale. Luke Helton recorded five strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work in the Morehead State Eagles 4-3 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Sunday.
Helton's 6.2 innings marked his second straight start of more than six innings of work.
Ryley Preece led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 1-for-3 with a three-run blast. Colton Becker put together a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-2 with a double, walk, and two stolen bases. Chase Vinson also chipped in, going 1-for-3 for Morehead State with an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Morehead State's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Preece. Tennessee Tech put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Eagles called on Riley Bradshaw with two outs in the seventh and the tying run at third, and he delivered to record his first save as an Eagle.
GAME NOTES
» Helton struck out five Golden Eagles hitters.
» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed four runs across.
» Becker stole two bases in Sunday's game, and has yet to be caught this season.
» Morehead State went 2-for-6 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers limited Tennessee Tech to just 1-for-6 (.167) with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers faced 29 Tennessee Tech hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and three fly balls while striking out five.
Morehead State is back in action on the road Tuesday, as the Eagles head to Athens, Ohio in search of a season sweep of the Ohio Bobcats.
