'Breds Swept By Samford In OVC Opener

Saturday, March 25

Murray, Ky.

Murray State

Samford

3/25/2006 6:00:00 AM | Baseball

The Murray State Thoroughbreds were victims of back-to-back pitching gems by Samford pitching in their Ohio Valley Conference opener this afternoon, dropping a pitchers' duel 2-1 in the first game, then falling in the second game 5-0.

"I was pleased in that we had some good at-bats," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "(Tyler) Pittman hit one into the gap on what should have been a two-run hit, but their left fielder (John Morgan) made a great diving catch, and that would have given us the lead in the first game. Then (in the same game), the tying run was on second, and Mullins hits a line drive.

"We did what we were supposed to do. I felt like we competed, but we came up on really tough pitching."

In the first game, all of the runs came in the first inning, with Samford (11-12, 2-0 OVC) plating two runs in the top half of the inning before Murray State (7-15, 0-2 OVC) responded.

Seth Hudson hit a one-out single to left, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, then scored on a single by Brett Wilson to narrow the gap to 2-1.

Senior right-hander Kalen Gibson (0-5, 0-1 OVC) threw another gem, giving up only two hits after the first inning, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out six and walking two in the complete-game loss.

Samford's Josh Ehmke (3-2, 1-0 OVC) got the complete-game win, allowing one run on three hits, striking out 14 and walking two.

Louis Rojas got the game's only extra-base hit, a triple to right in the first to drive in one run, then scoring on an infield single to account for the Bulldogs' only runs.

In the field, first baseman Jamie Leidolf had 11 putouts, while second baseman Hudson and shortstop Justin Yount had a game-high four assists each. For Samford, catcher Luke Peavy had 14 putouts, while he and third baseman Parker Gargis had two assists each.

"Both pitchers were outstanding," McDonald said. "Kalen gave up two early runs, then zeroes the rest of the way. (Ehmke) really carved us up; he really pitched well."

In the second game, Samford scored four runs in the second inning, making use of well-placed infield singles. The Bulldogs scored another run in the fourth to complete the scoring.

Michal Perconte (2-2, 0-1 OVC) took the loss for Murray State, allowing five runs on 12 hits, striking out four and walking one in six innings. Jon Newton pitched the seventh inning, facing the minimum three batters. Samford's Eric Lassister (2-2, 1-0 OVC) went the distance, allowing no runs on five hits, striking out four and walking three in seven innings.

Hudson went 2-for-3 for the 'Breds, while Austin Swain got the game's only extra-base hit, a double in the sixth inning. For Samford, Michael Maresco had three hits, while Rojas and Parker Gargis had two hits each.

In the field, Leidolf had seven putouts, while Yount and Perconte had three assists each. For Samford, first baseman Rojas had 10 putouts, while shortstop Maresco and second baseman Trey Moody had five assists apiece.

"Perconte just had buzzard's luck," McDonald said. "It would have been funny if it weren't happening to us. (Samford) was hitting balls off of the grip of the bat and legging out a lot of infield singles, but that's baseball. They made some nice plays, and they hit the ball. I can't fault our guys' effort. We've just got to compete better and adjust to where they're pitching."

Murray State closes its three-game series against Samford tomorrow (Sunday) at 1 p.m. at MSU's Reagan Field.