Murray State
Missouri
'Breds beat Missouri 6-5
2/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds took advantage of several Missouri miscues and held off a late Tiger rally to take the 6-5 win at Reagan Field this afternoon.
Murray State (4-3) took a 6-0 lead after four innings, with five of those runs being unearned behind four Tiger errors. Missouri (6-3) rallied late in the game, trailing 6-5 going into the ninth inning, but relief pitcher West Harris struck out two of the three batters he faced in that inning to nail down the win.
Sophomore left-hander Tyler Pittman (1-0) worked six innings and gave up three runs on two hits, striking out five and walking four. He also helped his own cause with a two-run home run in the third inning. Harris earned the save for MSU, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out two and walking one in the last three innings.
The 'Breds got on the scoreboard first with four unearned runs in the third inning. Second baseman Seth Hudson led off with an infield single and went to second on a bad throw to first base. First baseman Clint Griggs then reached on a two-base error, scoring Hudson. Third baseman Alex Stewart hit a one-out infield single, moving Griggs to third, then catcher Jason Payton sacrificed Griggs in to give MSU a 2-0 lead.
Pittman then stepped up and hit a two-run shot down the right-field line to give the 'Breds a 4-0 lead after three innings.
In the fourth inning, center fielder Brett Mullins led off by reaching on a throwing error. Shortstop Michal Perconte then single him to third. An attempted sac bunt by Hudson caught Mullins out at third base, but Griggs doubled down the left-field line to score Perconte and Hudson to give Murray State a 6-0 lead after four innings.
Missouri got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning when Greg O'Neill led off with a triple and scored on a groundout to cut the MSU lead to 6-1.
In the sixth inning, the Tigers struck for two more runs when Hunter Mense reached base on a fielder's choice. James Boone tripled down the right-filed line to score Mense, then scored on a wild pitch to trim the 'Breds' lead to 6-3.
Harris entered the game in the seventh inning and faced only four batters in that inning, but in the eighth inning, Missouri's Derek Chambers led off with a walk, then John McKee singled him to second. Chambers advanced to third on an MSU double-play, then scored on a single by Boone. Boone scored on a triple by Jacob Priday to narrow the gap to 6-5.
In the top of the ninth inning, Harris struck out Dan Pietroburgo, got Gary Arndt to ground out, then struck out Trevor Helms to end the game.
Payton went 2-for-3 with a run batted in, while Hudson went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Griggs had a double and two RBIs, while Pittman had a home run and two RBIs.
For Missouri, Boone went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and two RBIs.
On the mound, starter Eric Dessau (2-1) took the loss, allowing six runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out three and walking one in 3-1/3 innings. Dustin Braud came on in the fourth, retiring all five batters he faced, with two strikeouts in 1-2/3 innings. Andrew Johnston came on in the sixth inning, allowing two hits and striking out one in two innings, while Taylor Parker pitched the eighth inning, striking out two in one inning of work.
"I think our kids came out ready to play," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "We had a couple of good innings, we took the lead and we were able to hang on. I'd be much happier of we had continued to add to the lead.
"Pittman pitched very well. He frustrated them in the first few innings. Harris came in and pitched much better. He's tough to hit when he's throwing strikes."
Murray State continues this eight-game homestand on Wednesday at 2 p.m. when the 'Breds face regional rival Southern Illinois.
