Morehead State rallies from late tie for 5-1 win against Western Illinois in 7

GAME 1 | Morehead State 5, Western Illinois 1

MACOMB, IL --The Morehead State Eagles broke through after a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning to defeat the Western Illinois Leathernecks 5-1 Saturday. It was MSU's second straight victory and guaranteed the series win for the Blue and Gold.

Sophomore Jessie Begley (5-4) got the win for Morehead State (10-14, 4-7). The right-hander went seven innings, giving up one run on four hits, allowing one walk and striking out three.

"I'm very proud of the way we carried the momentum over from game one to game two," MSU head coach Megan Griffith said. "The hitters did a great job making adjustments at the plate (from) pitch to pitch. We also had great base running and were very savvy. Jessie pitched a great game and defense did well behind her."
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Western Illinois jumped out to the early lead by scoring in the first inning. The Leathernecks put two runners on base and a Valerie Combs sacrifice fly to right field drove in Malia Robertson.

Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put a run on the board in the fifth inning. Freshman Sela Pickford tripled to right center with one out and came across to score on a squeeze bunt by senior Peyton Jordan.

The next inning, the Morehead State offense exploded for four runs on five hits, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of senior Kaytlyn Cripps, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-1. WIU committed two errors to aid the cause. Senior Trinity Spear and junior Darlene Montoya each reached on infield singles to start the inning, with both stealing a base. Junior Ilencia Lightbody reached on error, which scored Cripps, and PIckford singled and moved up on another error, which allowed Lightbody to score.
 
"I feel as if everything was falling into place in the sixth inning," said Pickford, who finished 2-for-3, with an RBI and a run scored. "Everyone got their bunts down, hits after hits happening, reaching for extra bases, and just playing how us Eagles know how to play definitely helped us tremendously in getting the win!"

The score remained 5-1 for the rest of the game, as Morehead State coasted to the win.

GAME NOTES

» Morehead State's highest scoring inning was the sixth, when it pushed four runs across.
» The Eagles out-hit the Leathernecks at a 7-4 clip.
» Morehead State went 3-for-8 (.375) with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers limited Western Illinois to just 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers faced 26 Western Illinois hitters in the game, allowing 14 ground balls and three fly balls while striking out three.
» Pickford led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.
» Western Illinois was led offensively by freshman Valerie Combs, who went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
» Senior Emily Price led the Leathernecks pitching staff, throwing seven innings of five-run ball.

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.