Murray State
Eastern Illinois
'Breds split twinbill at EIU
4/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds won the second game of today's Ohio Valley Conference double-header at Eastern Illinois, 10-2, after dropping a seesaw extra-inning battle in the first game, 7-6 in 10 innings.
In the second game, Murray State (14-13, 3-2 OVC) jumped on the scoreboard first when Chaz Ebert led off with a walk, then went to second on an infield single by Clint Griggs. Alex Stewart doubled in both runners, then went to third on a double by Lincoln Kent. Stewart scored on a groundout, then Kent scored on a two-out bunt single by Jason Payton to give MSU an early 4-0 lead.
The 'Breds scored again in the second inning when Brett Mullins led off with a walk and Ebert singled him to second. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, and Mullins scored on a sacrifice fly by Griggs to put Murray State ahead 5-0.
In the third inning, Kent led off with a walk, then went to second on a wild pitch, then took second on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Swain. Payton was hit by a pitch, then a bunt single by Phil Lopez loaded the bases. A Mullins single plated Kent, then a single by Ebert scored Payton and Lopez to increase the Thoroughbreds' lead to 8-0.
Eastern Illinois (6-17, 3-2 OVC) scored two runs in the fourth inning, but MSU responded in the fifth when Lopez led off with a single, then Mullins was hit by a pitch. Ebert sacrificed them ahead one base, then Lopez scored on a wild pitch, moving Mullins to third. Mullins scored the last run of the game on a sacrifice fly for the final score of 10-2.
Stewart went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and two runs batted in, while Swain, Lopez and Ebert each had two hits. Ebert had two RBIs, while Lopez scored twice. Kent also had a double for MSU.
On the mound, Billy Fares (3-3) got the complete-game win, allowing two runs on seven hits, striking out seven and walking one in seven innings.
For EIU, Jason Cobb had two hits, including a two-run home run.
On the mound, Chris Vaculik (2-3) took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits, striking out one and walking two in 1-2/3 innings. Ted Juske came on in the second, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out one and walking one in 2-1/3 innings. Alex Guttosch completed the game, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out one and walking one in three innings.
In the opening game, the lead seesawed throughout the game. Murray State led 6-4 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but two unearned runs for EIU forced extra innings, and the Panthers won the game 7-6 in 10 innings.
Eastern Illinois scored a run in the first, but Murray State tied in up in the third when Ebert hit his first career home run to knot the game at 1-1.
The 'Breds took their first lead of the game in the fifth inning when Jamie Leidolf reached on an error, stopping at second base. Michal Perconte doubled in Leidolf, then went to third on a flyout. Perconte scored on a sac fly by Griggs to put MSU ahead 3-1.
The Panthers answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to tie the game at 3-3, but Murray State plated a run in the sixth when Tyler Pittman led off with a double, went to third on a bunt single by Swain, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Dustin Hennigar to give MSU a 4-3 lead.
Eastern Illinois scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4, but the 'Breds went ahead again in the seventh when Seth Hudson led off with a single, stole second, then scored on a home run by Stewart to put MSU ahead 6-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, two MSU errors led to two unearned runs for Eastern Illinois, tying the game at 6-6. In the bottom of the 10th, Adam Varrassi hit a one-out single, then went to second on a single by Blake Meyer. A deep single to the center-field fence by Joe Hernandez plated the game-winning run.
Hudson and Perconte had three hits apiece for Murray State, while Stewart had two RBIs. Ebert and Stewart each hit home runs, while Perconte had two doubles and Pittman had one.
On the mound, Jon Ross Shelton (0-3) took the loss in relief, allowing one run on three hits, striking out one and walking none in 2-1/3 innings. Craig Kraus started the game, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits, striking out 10 and walking two in seven innings.
For EIU, four Panthers had two hits each. Ryan Campbell, Jason Cobb and Joe Hernandez each had home runs for Eastern Illinois.
On the mound, Vaculik got the win, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out three in 1-1/3 innings. Kyle Widegren started for EIU, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits, striking out nine and walking three in seven innings. Brian Long entered in the eighth, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out one and walking one in 1-1/3 innings. Ryan Parsons entered in the ninth, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out one in one-third of an inning.
The rubber game of the series will be played tomorrow (Sunday) at 1 p.m. That game can be heard locally on WRKY (1130 AM, Murray).
