Morehead, Ky.-- Morehead State and Lindenwood battled late into the evening, but fell 5-4 in 13 innings in the opener of their three-game series Friday night in St Charles, Mo.
Lindenwood (23-23/ 10-8 OVC) was held in check for eight innings by the tandem of
Landon Waugh and
Hunter Porter (0-4) out of the bullpen but finally broke through in the bottom of the 13
th. The Lions got a walk, a single and a hit by pitch, chasing Porter. The Lions ended the game, scoring on a wild pitch by
Josh Furtado, appearing in relief for Porter.
Porter was strong out of the pen, shutting down Lindenwood for four shutout innings. He finished allowing just three hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts.Â
Waugh had another quality appearance out of the bullpen: he threw 4.1 innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out four Lindenwood batters, keeping the Eagles in the ball game.
MSU starter
Kamden Hawks (1-5) started strong for the Eagles, going through the first three innings allowing one hit, while walking two and striking out five Lion batters. Lindenwood got to the freshman in the fourth inning, scoring four runs: highlighted by first baseman Sam Grunberg's leadoff home run over the left field fence and punctuated by designated hitter Tyler Thompson's two-out, two RBI single through the left side.
Morehead State broke through in the fifth inning. First baseman
Alex Kean led off with a double to left center. Right fielder
Austyn Peak beat out an infield single to third base to put runners on the corners.
Third baseman
Griffin Olson scored Kean with a bouncer to the pitcher, and second baseman
Caden Sheridan scored Peak with a double to center field to cut the lead in half at 4-2.
MSU evened the score in the seventh inning. Designated hitter
Aubrey Kearns slapped a one-out single up the middle, followed by Peak's bunt single down the third base line. Olson advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. After a Sheridan walk to load the bases, catcher
Hunter Thomas smacked a two-run single into left field to tie the score.
The Eagles will face off with the Lions Saturday in game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET. The game can be watched on ESPN+.
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NOTABLE
- The game was the third time in the seven games between MSU and Lindenwood that has gone extra innings. Last season, MSU won 14-13 in 10 innings, and in 2023, Lindenwood beat Morehead State 6-5 in 12.
- The longest game in program history was on March 4, 2009, in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall edged MSU 6-4.
- Hunter Thomas' two-run single in the seventh gives him 52 RBI for the season, tops in the OVC. It was his 14th multiple-RBI game of the season.
- JJ Dutton went 2-6 for the game, extending his reached-base streak to 22 games. He's hit safely in 21 of the last 22 games. He also has 14 multi-hit games.
- Caden Sheridan's double in the fourth inning was his 12th of the season, which leads the Eagles, and is in the top-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference. He went 2-4 in the game, giving him 13 multi-hit games for the season.
- Alex Kean extended his hit streak to five games. He's gone 8-21 (.381) with two home runs, three doubles and six RBI in the last five contests.
- Andy Cisneros has now hit safely in 10 of the last 11 games, hitting 14-49 (.306).
- Austyn Peak finished the game 3-6 at the plate; he also swiped his fourth stolen base of the season.
- Hawks' six strikeouts for the game give him 48 on the season, which leads the club.
