Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
'Breds complete sweep of EKU with 12-1 win this afternoon
4/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds completed their Ohio Valley Conference series sweep of visiting Eastern Kentucky this afternoon with a 12-1 win at Reagan Field.
As it was with the first two games of the series, pitching was the name of the game today. Junior left-hander West Harris (4-2, 3-0 OVC) allowed one run on four hits in the first inning, but settled in, allowing only two hits over the next six innings.
Eastern Kentucky (9-15, 3-5 OVC) began the scoring in the game, as Bryan Stevenson hit a two-out single, then Chris O'Dell singled him to second. Will Whisenant singled in Stevenson to give EKU a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, Murray State responded, as Chaz Ebert led off with a walk, then Seth Hudson singled him to second. Clint Griggs hit a bunt single to load the bases, then Ebert scored during a double play, moving Hudson to third. Dustin Hennigar doubled in Hudson, then Austin Swain singled in Hennigar to put the 'Breds ahead 3-1.
MSU scored again in the second when Brett Mullins hit a one-out double, then went to third on a wild pitch. Mullins scored on a sacrifice fly by Ebert to give Murray State a 4-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, Tyler Pittman led off with a solo home run, his third of the season, to push the 'Breds' lead to 5-1.
In the fifth inning, Hudson led off with a single, then went to second on a wild pitch, scoring Hudson and putting Griggs on second. Alex Stewart stepped up and hit his third home run of the season, putting MSU up 8-1.
In the seventh inning, Stewart led off with a single, then went to second when Hennigar reached on a fielding error. Stewart went to third during a double play, then scored on an infield hit by Pittman to give Murray State a 9-1 lead.
In the eighth inning, Mullins led off with a single, then Ebert doubled him to third. Griggs walked to load the bases, the Stewart hit a two-RBI double down the left-field line, scoring Mullins and Ebert and moving Griggs to third. Hennigar's infield hit scored Griggs to close the scoring at 12-1.
Stewart led all batters with four hits, including a home run and a double to go with two runs scored and four runs batted in. Hennigar added three hits, including a double, a run and two RBIs, while Ebert, Hudson, Pittman and Mullins each had two hits. Ebert and Mullins each had a double, while Pittman hit a home run.
On defense, Griggs had 11 putouts, while Phil Lopez had six assists.
On the mound, Harris got the win, allowing one run on six hits, striking out three and walking one in seven innings. Jon Ross Shelton closed out the game, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out one in two innings.
For Eastern Kentucky, O'Dell had two hits, while Brett Bolger had a double for the Colonels.
On defense, Whisenant had 13 putouts, while Tony Wells had seven assists.
On the mound, Blake Anderson (3-1) took his first loss of the season, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits, striking out one and walking two in four innings. Brian Engle came on in the fifth, allowing five runs on nine hits, striking out three and walking one in four innings.
"We played well," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "We had everything going for us. We got some good pitching, and it was just one of those weekends where everything went our way.
"I was proud of West in that -- in the first inning, he didn't pitch poorly; (Eastern Kentucky) was just getting hits; that's their job -- but he made a little adjustment and stuck his nose back in it and pitched well."
Murray State closes out this five-game homestand against nationally-recognized Evansville on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and Arkansas State on Wednesday at 2 p.m., both at Reagan Field.
