Murray State
Eastern Illinois
'Breds take EIU series with 11-2 win
4/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds took its second Ohio Valley Conference series win in as many tries, beating Eastern Illinois 11-2 this afternoon, taking the series with the Panthers two games to one.
The win put Murray State (15-13, 4-2 OVC) into a tie for second place in the OVC standings with Jacksonville State. Morehead State remained unbeaten in league play at 5-0, while Eastern Kentucky fell to 3-2.
In today's game, the 'Breds scored seven unearned runs in the third inning to vault past the homestanding Panthers (6-18, 3-3 OVC).
MSU got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning when designated hitter Chaz Ebert led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Seth Hudson. Ebert went to third on a single by first baseman Clint Griggs, then scored on an infield single by left fielder Austin Swain to give MSU a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Griggs hit a one-out single, then third baseman Alex Stewart was hit by a pitch. Swain reached on a fielding error to load the bases, and catcher Dustin Hennigar walked in Griggs.
Stewart scored on a groundout, then shortstop Phil Lopez reached on a fielding error, scoring Swain and Hennigar. Center fielder Brett Mullins walked, moving Lopez to second, then Ebert hit his second home run of the series, driving in three more runs to put Murray State ahead 8-1.
In the fifth inning, the 'Breds plated another run when Ebert hit a two-out shot, his second home run of the day, to give MSU a 9-0 lead.
In the sixth, Murray State took a double-digit lead when Griggs reached on a fielding error, then Stewart singled him to second. Both runners advanced on a groundout, then Griggs scored on a sacrifice fly by Hennigar to give the 'Breds a 10-0 lead.
Eastern Illinois broke up the shutout bid in the seventh when Joe Hernandez reached on a fielder's choice, then went to third when Jon Hickey singled and went to second on a fielding error. Hernandez scored on a wild pitch to cut the MSU lead to 10-1.
In the eighth, Murray State scored again when Swain reached on a fielder's choice and right fielder Lincoln Kent was hit by a pitch. Lopez singled in Swain to give the 'Breds an 11-1 lead.
The Panthers scored the last run of the game in the eighth when Kevin Carkeek hit a two-out single and scored on a double by Jason Cobb to close the scoring at 11-2.
Ebert went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs and four runs batted in. Griggs also had three hits and scored two runs, while Lopez had two hits. Swain scored twice and Hennigar had two RBIs for MSU.
On the mound, West Harris (3-2, 1-0 OVC) pitched a gem, allowing one unearned run on four hits, striking out seven and walking four in seven innings. Matt Scalfani came on in the eighth and allowed one run on four hits, striking out one in the last two innings.
For Eastern Illinois, Keiji Szalo went 2-for-3 to lead the Panther offense.
On the mound, Mike Budde (2-4) took the loss, allowing seven runs (one earned) on four hits, striking out two and walking three in 2-2/3 innings. Brian Long came on in the third, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, striking out one and walking one in 2-1/3 innings. Kenny Firlit entered in the fifth, allowing one unearned run on three hits, striking out one in two innings, while Frank Simoncelli pitched the last two innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit, striking out three.
Murray State visits regional rival Southern Illinois on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The 'Breds return home for a return to its conference schedule, hosting Eastern Kentucky in a three-game series, beginning Saturday with a 1 p.m. double-header.
