EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- In a complete team effort, the Morehead State baseball team took down SIUE 8-2 in Friday's series opener. All nine starters reached base safely in the win.Â
Luke Helton (6-2) started on the mound and picked up the win for Morehead State (31-18, 13-6). The right-hander went seven innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on six hits, allowing one walk and striking out six. Senior Matt Bettio closed out the win for the Eagles, throwing two shutout innings while allowing no hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
Ryley Preece led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 3-for-4 in the ballgame with two triples, a walk and two RBI. Carter Sakamoto furnished a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Junior Roman Kuntz also helped out, going 2-for-5 for Morehead State with a double.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, starting in the third inning. Morehead State pushed across two runs in the frame, the big blow coming on an RBI double from junior Nick Gooden.
The Eagles then held the Cougars scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Preece's run-scoring single highlighted an inning where Morehead State scored twice, which brought the Eagles lead to 4-0.
SIU-Edwardsville narrowed Morehead State's lead to 4-1 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 7-1 in the fifth inning.
Morehead State kept the Cougars scoreless before their offense got back in action the next inning. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Colton Becker, bringing the Morehead State advantage to 8-1. SIU-Edwardsville put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Eagles still coasted to the 8-2 win.
GAME NOTES
» Preece picked up three base knocks in the game for Morehead State.
» Helton struck out six Cougars hitters.
» The Eagles power output was led by Preece, who picked up two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Every Morehead State starter reached base safely in the win.
» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Morehead State took the lead at 2-0 in the top half of the third and never lost that advantage.
» The Eagles out-hit the Cougars at an 11-6 clip.
» Morehead State pitchers faced 32 SIU-Edwardsville hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Eagles drew seven walks from SIU-Edwardsville pitching.
Morehead State goes for the series win on Saturday, with the first pitch currently schedule for 2:00 p.m. ET.Â
