Hunter Thomas' Two Homers Powers Eagles Past Salukis 6-4 in Series Finale

Morehead, Ky. -- A pair of late home runs by designated hitter Hunter Thomas lifted Morehead State to a 6-4 win over Southern Illinois Sunday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.

With the score tied at 4-4, Thomas hit a one-out solo home run down the left field line. In the top of the ninth, the senior from Russell Springs, Ky., led off the inning with a drive over the left field fence, his ninth home run of the season put the Eagles ahead 6-4.

Thomas led the Morehead State (8-10) offense, going 4-5 with three runs scored. Junior Josh Furtado (2-0) threw two hitless innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win. Senior Will Grimmett pitched the last two innings to notch his fourth save.

Eagle starter Bradley Poynter threw five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He walked five batters and notched two strikeouts.

Southern Illinois (12-6) pitcher Meade Johnson got the loss. He threw 6.1 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He walked five Eagle batters and struck out seven. On the weekend, SIU pitching struck out 36 batters.

Morehead State got out of the gate quickly: leadoff hitter center fielder Hayden Robbins walked and stole second. After a Thomas infield hit and a Germann walk, first baseman Alex Kean forced Robbins home on a fielder's choice. Right fielder JJ Dutton's single through the left side scored Thomas. In the fourth, MSU got two more runs with a two-out rally. Shortstop Andy Cisneros walked and was driven home by Robbins' double to center. Third baseman Griffin Olson scored Robbins with a double down the left field line to push the Eagles ahead 4-0.

The Salukis evened the score in the fifth inning, scoring three runs on four hits, highlighted by catcher John Lemm's leadoff home run to right.

Morehead State will travel to Bellarmine Tuesday in their final tune up before opening Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend at SIUE. First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET.

NOTABLE

• Hunter Thomas is hitting .325 on the season. He leads with nine home runs and 27 runs batted in.
• Andy Cisneros extended his hitting streak to four games and raised his average to .328. He has hit safely in seven of the last eight games. 
• Davis Germann has hit safely in eight of the last nine games. He is hitting .315.
• Josh Furtado and Will Grimmett closed the game out with four innings of no-hit baseball. They combined for three walks and three strikeouts.