Murray State
UT Martin
Suicide bunt crushes Skyhawks as Thoroughbreds squeeze by, 4-3
4/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
A famous TV theme song says that "Suicide is Painless," but Murray State's suicide squeeze in the ninth inning crushed host Tennessee-Martin, giving the Thoroughbreds the 4-3 Ohio Valley Conference win this afternoon.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the top of the ninth inning, Brett Mullins hit a one-out infield single, then moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Chaz Ebert. With Mullins charging for home, Seth Hudson laid down a bunt right in front of the plate, scoring Mullins for the game-winning score.
Tennessee-Martin (8-31, 3-12 OVC) tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, and threatened to do more, when MSU pitcher Billy Fares entered the game with one out and runners on first and second. Fares was able to entice Douglas Nicodemus into an inning-ending double play to halt the threat and enable the 'Breds to manufacture the winning run. Fares faced the minimum three batters in the ninth inning to earn the win.
The Skyhawks opened the scoring in the second inning when Brian Berryman led off with a double, then went to third on a wild pitch. Brett Hall was hit by a pitch, then Nicodemus reached on a fielder's choice when his ball batted back to the mound was misplayed on a throw to home, allowing Berryman to score, Hall to reach third and Berryman to reach second. Hall was injured on the play at third, and Blake Turner pinch-ran for him. Turner scored on a sacrifice bunt, putting UTM ahead 2-0.
Murray State (22-21, 10-6 OVC) got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Tyler Pittman reached on an error, then went to second on a balk. Austin Swain doubled him in to cut the Skyhawk lead to 2-1.
The 'Breds tied the game in the fifth when Mullins was hit by a pitch, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, then scored on Alex Stewart's two-out single to knot the game at 2-2.
MSU took its first lead of the game in the seventh when Phil Lopez led off with a single, then went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Ebert singled in Lopez to put MSU ahead 3-2.
Tennessee-Martin retied the game in the eighth inning when Berryman hit a one-out single and was lifted for pinch-runner Jacob Smothers. Nick Luper singled Smothers to second, then Smothers scored on a single by Turner to tie the game at 3-3. Murray State's suicide squeeze in the next inning proved to be the game-winner.
Ebert led the MSU offense with two hits. Swain doubled for the 'Breds, while Mullins scored two runs.
On defense, Clint Griggs had a game-high eight putouts at first base, while Hudson had a game-high four assists at second base.
On the mound, Fares (5-5, 3-2 OVC) got the win in relief, allowing no runs on no hits, striking out one and retiring all four batters he faced in 1-2/3 innings. Craig Kraus started for MSU, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out eight and walking two in 7-1/3 innings.
For Tennessee-Martin, Berryman and Luper each had two hits, each getting a double for the Skyhawks.
On defense, Brett Spivy had seven putouts at catcher, while second baseman Nick Bruner and pitcher Adam Ledlow each had three assists.
On the mound, Ledlow (1-7, 0-5 OVC) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits, striking out seven and walking three in 8-1/3 innings. Micky Dobson finished the game, allowing no hits and walking one in two-thirds of an inning.
The teams will close out the three-game series with a double-header tomorrow (Sunday) at noon at Tennessee-Martin. The action can be heard locally on WRKY (Murray, 1130 AM).
