Murray State
Arkansas State
'Breds rally late, but fall short in 7-4 loss at Arkansas State
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds trailed 7-1 going into the ninth inning at Arkansas State this afternoon, but rallied with three runs in the frame and brought the tying run to the plate twice, but couldn't complete the comeback in the 7-4 loss.
Murray State (2-1) opened the scoring in the fourth inning when center fielder Tyler Pittman hit into a fielder's choice and catcher Brett Wilson doubled through the right side, scoring Pittman from first and giving MSU a 1-0 lead.
Arkansas State (7-1) countered in the bottom half of the frame, taking advantage of two doubles and two fielding errors to plate three runs and take a 3-1 lead.
The Indians scored two more runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-1 advantage, then drove in one in the seventh inning and one in the eighth to lead 7-1.
In the ninth inning, Pittman led off with a walk, then moved to second on a single by Wilson. Phil Lopez came on to pinch-run for Wilson.
Right fielder Brett Mullins singled in Pittman and moved Lopez to second, and second baseman Seth Hudson singled in Lopez, moving Mullins to third. Designated hitter Chaz Ebert singled in Mullins to bring Murray State to within 7-4 with runners on first and second and only one out.
Left fielder Austin Swain came up and struck out, and first baseman Clint Griggs fouled out to end the game.
"I think our kids played hard and gave us a good effort," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "We didn't play well. I look back at a lot of defensive plays, and some that didn't show up in the box score as errors. There were several plays that we expect to make that we didn't make.
"We fought back at the end, though. I think we've got great character on this team. We battled and had the tying run at the plate. When you get behind, that's the goal: to fight back and get the tying run to the plate and hope you can get that big hit."
Murray State was led by Wilson, who went 2-for-4 with a double and a run batted in, and Hudson, who also went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Pittman scored twice for the 'Breds.
Arkansas State was paced by Mike Sirianni, who went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI, and Brett Kinning, who went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
On the mound, Jon Ross Shelton (0-1) took the loss in his first game of the season, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits, striking out four and walking three in four innings. West Harris came on in the fifth inning and allowed three runs on four hits, striking out one and walking one in three innings. Greg Gray closed out the game, pitching in his first game for MSU since 2003, allowing one run on one hit, striking out one and walking one in one inning.
For ASU, Will Powell (1-0) got the win in relief, allowing no runs on three hits in 1-2/3 innings. Andrew Bishop started for the Indians, allowing one run on no hits, striking out one and walking five in 3-1/3 innings. Brian Holmes came on in the sixth, allowing no runs on no hits, walking one in two innings. Brandon Westmoreland pitched the eighth inning, allowing no runs on no hits, walking one in one inning. Josh Allison started the ninth, allowing three runs on three hits, striking out one and walking one in one-third of an inning. Doug Walter picked up his first save of the season, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.
Murray State returns home to host Bowling Green State in a three-game series over the weekend. A Saturday double-header begins at noon, while the Sunday game also begins at noon at Reagan Field.
