MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Second baseman
Nick Griffith belted a two-run homer early to give the Eagles the lead and then lifted a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth as the Morehead State Baseball team defeated Tennessee Tech in a 7-6 tug-of-war at the Averitt Express Complex Saturday.
MSU won its seventh straight game and secured a series sweep at Tech for the first time since 1994. MSU finished with a 15-12 OVC mark and a 31-23 regular-season record. The Eagles are the fifth seed in next week's conference tournament in Marion, Ill., and will face No. 8 Southern Indiana in an elimination game Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at Mountain Dew Park.
Griffith's long ball was one of three the Eagles slammed on Saturday. First baseman
Alex Kean connected on a 462-foot solo shot in the fourth, and catcher
Miller Murray recorded his first career round-tripper in seventh.
Reliever
Carter Owens (3-1) was credited with the win, while
Bradley Poynter slammed the door in the ninth for his first save of the year. Starter
Connor Davis' admirable effort included only hit allowed and four strikeouts in the first four innings.
Griffith's two run blast gave MSU a 2-0 lead in the second, while Kean's mammoth moon shot made it 3-0 in the fourth. Third baseman
Griffin Olson's RBI single to score shortstop
Jack Taylor propelled the advantage to 4-0 in the fifth.
But, a fielding miscue early in the bottom of the fifth eventually opened the door for a bases-loaded situation for Tech's lead-off hitter Jackson Rooker. He crushed a
Josh Furtado offering over the wall in right center to tie the game 4-4.
Left-fielder
Kyle Krupp bounded an infield RBI fielder's choice grounder with the bases loaded in the sixth as MSU went back on top 5-4. Murray's homer made it 6-4 in the seventh. However, TTU center-fielder Jorsixt Jimenez registered his 20th homer of the year in the eighth with a runner on, to the tie game again 6-6.
MSU's eventually winning run scored next as first baseman
Brayton Coomer dropped a double just inside the right-field line to start the inning. A walk to right-fielder
JJ Dutton also allowed Coomer to move to third on a wild pitch. Griffith lifted a high flyer to center, just deep enough to plate Coomer.
Poynter coaxed a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame to seal the win. Kean, Coomer and Griffith all had two hits. Kean ended the weekend with seven hits.
NOTABLE
* Germann had a hit to extend his reached-base streak to a team-high 16 games
* Murray had struck out twice prior to his first career homer, and he had a two-strike count on the long ball play.
* Davis' four Ks was a career high.
* Morehead State recorded saves in all three games of the series.
* Another stolen base by Dutton gives the Eagles 97 successful steals this season.
