EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The Morehead State baseball team split a pair of one-run games vs. SIUE in Saturday's doubleheader to take the series two games to one.
GAME 1 | Morehead State 3, SIU-Edwardsville 2
The Morehead State Eagles broke through after a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning to knock off the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars 3-2 Saturday.
Senior Matt Bettio (2-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Morehead State (32-18, 14-6). The right-hander went two shutout innings without giving up a hit, one walk and striking out one. Junior Grant Herron started the ballgame and went 3.2 shutout innings without allowing a hit, walking eight and striking out five.
Junior Ryley Preece led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 2-for-4 in the ballgame with a home run and two RBI. Junior Roman Kuntz provided a noteworthy day at the plate as well, going 2-for-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Preece put Morehead State on the board with a leadoff inside the park home run, the first for Morehead State since 2019.
After a nearly three-hour long weather delay, the Cougars then tied the ballgame at one before the Eagles came back to reclaim their advantage in the eighth inning. Morehead State brought home a pair, with one run driven in by Kuntz's single, which brought the score to 3-1 in favor of the Eagles. SIU-Edwardsville put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Morehead State still held on for the 3-2 win. John Bakke's second save of the season gave him his 17th career save, tying Michael Thompson's program record.
GAME NOTES
» Herron struck out five Cougars hitters.
» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Morehead State took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Eagles out-hit the Cougars at a 6-2 clip.
» Morehead State went 2-for-5 (.400) with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers limited SIU-Edwardsville to just 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers faced 40 SIU-Edwardsville hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and 13 fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Eagles drew four walks from SIU-Edwardsville pitching.
» Preece led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI
GAME 2 | SIU-Edwardsville 7, Morehead State 6
The Morehead State Eagles took a 5-4 lead into the seventh inning, but could not hang on and fell 7-6 to the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars Saturday.
John Bakke (5-3) came out of the bullpen for Morehead State (32-19, 14-7) and took the loss. Will Grimmett was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing 2.2 shutout innings, allowing one hit, with no walks and two strikeouts.
Colton Becker led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Senior Chase Vinson furnished a noteworthy performance as well, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Nick Gooden also contributed, going 2-for-4 for Morehead State with a walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Ryley Preece came across to score the lone run of the inning on a wild pitch for Morehead State and get them on the board.
The Eagles lost the lead they built in the first, but got back on the board in the fourth trailing 2-1. Morehead State picked up two runs, including one on a solo homer off the bat of Becker, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Eagles.
Morehead State kept SIU-Edwardsville scoreless before building their lead to 5-2 the following inning.
The Cougars fought back, closing the gap to 5-4 until Morehead State added some insurance in the seventh. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Vinson, bringing the score to 6-4 in favor of Morehead State. The Eagles were unable to hold the lead, as SIU-Edwardsville scored three times over the remaining two innings to grab the 7-6 win.
GAME NOTES
» Every Eagles starter reached base safely in the loss.
» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Morehead State left 12 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Morehead State pitchers faced 43 SIU-Edwardsville hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and 14 fly balls while striking out six.
» The Eagles drew 10 walks from SIU-Edwardsville pitching.
» Becker led the Eagles at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Morehead State is back in action Tuesday, kicking off the final week of the regular season at Marshall prior to hosting Little Rock in a three-game set.
