MOREHEAD, Ky. --The Morehead State Eagles put together a last-chance comeback, scoring three runs in the ninth inning to send the game to extras, but the late-game rally came up short and they fell 11-9 to the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks in 11 innings Saturday.
Jarrett Miller (1-5) came out of the bullpen for Morehead State (23-14, 8-3) and took the loss. Riley Bradshaw was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing 3.1 innings, giving up two runs, zero earned, on three hits, with one walk and three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Eagles were paced by junior Roman Kuntz, who went 3-for-5 on the day with two home runs, a walk and five RBI. Junior Nick Gooden furnished a noteworthy day at the plate as well, going 2-for-5 with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Junior Ryley Preece also chipped in for Morehead State, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a home run, a walk and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Morehead State plated two runs when Gooden left the yard with junior Jackson Feltner aboard.
The Redhawks failed to push any runs across before the Eagles built on their lead in the third inning. Morehead State scored twice on Kuntz's two-run homer, which brought the score to 4-0 in favor of the Eagles.
Morehead State's lead had evaporated once the fifth inning arrived and turned into a 5-4 Southeast Missouri State advantage, when the Eagles evened up the game at five. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Kuntz.
The Redhawks broke the tie and grabbed the lead heading into the ninth inning, when Morehead State got back on the board. The Eagles put up three runs, two coming on home runs from both Preece and Kuntz, tying the score at 8-8.
Southeast Missouri State then broke that tie and grabbed a 9-8 lead moving into the tenth, when the Eagles tied the game once again, this time at nine.  Hunter Porter came across to score the lone run of the inning for Morehead State. Southeast Missouri State then scored two times in the 11th to break the tie and grab the 11-9 win.
GAME NOTES
» Morehead State got a two-homer day from Kuntz.
» Kuntz drove in five runs for the Eagles.
» Eagles pitchers combined to strike out 12 Southeast Missouri State hitters.
» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the ninth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Four Morehead State hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame.
» The Eagles took Southeast Missouri State pitchers deep four times on Saturday.
» Morehead State left 10 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» The Eagles drew four walks from Southeast Missouri State pitching.
Morehead State and SEMO meet one more time on Sunday, with the first pitch of the rubber match set for 1:00 p.m. ET.
