Murray State
Morehead State
'Breds Score Early And Often In 14-2 Rout
4/23/2006 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds took the rubber game of its three-game series against Morehead State this afternoon, pushing out to a 14-0 lead after four innings en route to the 14-2 rout.
The 'Breds (12-28, 5-10 OVC) scored one unearned run in the first inning, then plated five runs in the second inning, four in the third and four unearned runs in the fourth inning to vault out to a 14-0 lead. Morehead State (15-22, 6-8 OVC) scored an unearned run in the seventh inning and a run in the eighth.
James Akin, who has started at second base over the last five games for the injured Seth Hudson, went 3-for-5 today with two doubles, three runs scored and a run batted in. Over his last seven games, he has hit .400 (8-for-20) with three doubles, six runs and four RBIs.
Tyler Owen also stepped up to the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs. Brett Mullins went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs, while Justin Yount went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Chaz Ebert doubled for Murray State and scored three times, while Jason Payton drove in two runs for the 'Breds.
The 7-8-9-1 batters in the Murray State lineup went 8-for-13 with three doubles, 11 runs scored and five runs batted in.
On the mound, Michal Perconte (3-3, 1-2 OVC) picked up his first league win of the season and held the Eagles scoreless through the first 6-2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits, striking out six and walking two in eight innings of work. Jon Newton closed the door for the 'Breds, facing the minimum three batters in the ninth inning and walking one.
For Morehead State, Ryan Kinder went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and a run.
On the mound, Rob Saunders (0-1, 0-1 OVC) took the loss in his first start of the season, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on seven hits, striking out one and walking four in 2-2/3 innings. Reid Kittleson came on in the third inning, allowing four unearned runs on five hits, striking out three and walking four in 3-1/3 innings. Dan Klausmeier pitched the seventh inning for the Eagles, allowing no hits, striking out one and walking one, while Greg Wood faced the minimum three batters in the eighth inning.
In the field, catcher Payton and first baseman Brett Wilson had six putouts apiece, while Akin had eight of Murray State's 12 assists in the game, with the other four claimed by shortstop Yount. For Morehead State, first baseman Paul Rhodes had eight putouts, while third baseman Kinder and second baseman Chris McCaslin had three assists each.
"It feels good to get out ahead and really put it to somebody," said Murray State head coach Rob McDonald. "I've always been this way -- and after the last couple of weekends, probably even more so -- but I'm more up-tight when we're ahead with a big lead than I am when we're behind.
"Maybe (throwing in the first game of the series) helped (Perconte). He pitched well, and has really done an outstanding job this year pitching. He pitched competitively, and he mixed his pitches, throws everything for strikes. He was a shortstop last year, so we've got a good fielder on the mound; he can handle himself out there.
"James (Akin) is a really heady ball player," McDonald said. "I knew that if he gets some at-bats, he's going up there swinging. One of the plays of the day today was when James was on second base (as a runner) with less than two outs, and we hit a fly ball to center field, and James -- being 'heads-up' and knowing what's going on and doing his homework ahead of time -- knew where the center fielder was playing, and he took off running and scores on that. Normally, a lot of guys wouldn't be able to score on a ball like that because they would have to wait and look, but he knew ahead of time and made a real good base-running play."
Murray State visits Kentucky on Wednesday for a double-header, beginning at 2 p.m. CT. The second game of that twinbill will be shown regionally on Fox Sports Net South (Murray Cable Channel 27) at 6 p.m. CT.
"Our guys are really excited to go up there and show what they can do," McDonald said. "One of the beauties of this set-up is: because we agreed to play a second game up there, we negotiated them coming here to play here at Reagan Field next year. It's kind of a neat thing, because it's hard to get those schools to play anywhere but home."
