Morehead, Ky. -- The Morehead State baseball team pounded out 21 hits and secured the series sweep with a 12-8 win over UT Martin Saturday at Allen Field at Prefontaine Park.
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Morehead State (15-16, 4-5 OVC) was led by freshman second baseman
Nick Griffith who posted his first four-hit game of his career with two doubles and two singles. He drove in a run and scored three.
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On the mound, Eagle starter
Connor Davis (3-0) earned the win. He threw six innings, allowing four hits and two runs. Both runs came via solo home runs. He walked one batter and struck out one.
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Morehead State gained control of the game in the bottom of the third inning, sending 11 batters to the plate. With the Eagles leading 2-1, right fielder
Ian McCubbin led off with a single. Catcher
Caden Sheridan lined a single to right to put runners at first and second. Griffith lined a double off the Big Blue Wall in right to plate McCubbin.
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After
Alex Kean walked to load the bases, shortstop
Jaden Correa smacked a grand-slam home run over the screen in right-center to put the Eagles ahead 7-0. Third baseman
Griffin Olson walked, advanced to second on a throwing error by UT Martin starter Maxwell Schumacher, and scored on
Aubrey Kearns' two-out single up the middle.
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Morehead State answered the Skyhawks' run in the top of the fourth inning with one of its own in the bottom half. Griffith set the table with a lined single to center and advanced to second on Kean's single through the right side. Griffith advanced to third on another throwing error on a pickoff play and scored on Olson's sacrifice fly to left to extend the Eagle lead to 9-2.
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The Eagles padded the lead in the sixth; Sheridan led off with a double to deep left-center, advanced on a single through the left side by Griffith and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kean to right-center.
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UT Martin plated two runs in the seventh that were answered by two Eagle runs in the eighth. Griffith drove a double to the fence in left field, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Correa's lined single to center. Olson drove Correa home with an RBI double to left to put the Eagles up 12-4.
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UT Martin fought back in the ninth, plating four runs while sending nine batters to the plate.
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Morehead State returns to action Tuesday it hosts Ohio. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET. The game is scheduled to be aired on ESPN+. Airtime is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
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NOTABLE
- Correa finished the game 3-5 with a grand slam home run, a double and five RBI. He scored three runs.
- Olson was 3-3 at the plate with a double, a run scored, and three RBI.
- Kearns was 3-5 with two RBI.
- McCubbin got three hits in five at-bats and scored a run, extending his reached-base streak to 12 games.
- Kean extended his reached-base streak to 20 games.
- Morehead State pitchers walked two Skyhawk batters for the third game in a row, matching the season-low for free passes.
- The Eagle offense pounded out 57 hits in the series and scored 37 runs.
- MSU left 23 runners on base in total in the three games. UTM left 17 runners stranded.
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