Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
'Breds Close Season With 5-2 Loss To EKU
5/24/2007 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
It may have been a sign of things to come when Murray State third baseman Tyler Oewn broke his nose during between-inning warm-ups in the field when a thrown grounder kicked up and caught him in the face before he could field one play in the first inning. Eastern Kentucky scored a run in each of the first four innings and staved off a Thoroughbreds comeback to win the elimination game 5-2.
With its second loss in the double-elimination tournament, MSU closes its season at 18-35.
EKU pitcher Christian Friedrich (5-4) threw a lot of pitches to the patient MSU batters, hurling 28 pitches in the first inning and reaching 100 pitches early in the sixth.
"He is probably the best pitcher in the league," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "He's got outstanding stuff, especially his off-speed stuff. His breaking ball is very good. We were trying to get the fast ball, to not have to hit his off-speed stuff, but that worked out for us to where we got some huge counts and long at-bats against him."
For the 'Breds, Anthony Stacy (2-2) was up to the task, despite allowing four runs in the first four innings. He went the distance, allowing five runs on nine hits, striking out one and walking one in eight innings, throwing only 98 pitches, or 12.3 per inning.
Murray State broke up Friedrich's no-hit bid in the fifth when junior left fielder Matt Scheer was hit by a pitch and senior second baseman Seth Hudson drew a one-out walk. Senior first baseman James Akin reached on a fielding error, allowing Scheer to score and break up the shutout. Senior center fielder Tyler Pittman got MSU's first hit of the game, a single that scored Hudson, to narrow the gap to 4-2. EKU added a run in the seventh for the final score.
Senior right fielder Jamie Leidolf led the 'Breds' batters, going 2-for-4. Defensively, Akin had seven putouts, while sophomore shortstop Justin Yount had five assists.
For EKU, Lucas Waters went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs batted in, while Shawn Flora went 2-for-4 with a run. Dylan McMaine also homered for the Colonels, while Aaron Barrows hit a double. Defensively, catcher Joe Oliver and first baseman Clint Seymour each had 10 putouts, while third baseman Waters and second baseman Matt Davis had four assists apiece.
Friedrich allowed two unearned runs on three hits, striking out 10 and walking four in seven innings. McKenzie Willoughby got his fifth save of the season, allowing one hit, striking out one and walking two in two innings.
MILESTONES: Tyler Pittman ended his career by setting a new MSU career hits record with 228. Seth Hudson is second on that list at 220. Pittman set the career at-bats record at 768 and holds the career doubles mark at 55. He also tied the MSU career games played record at 209, tying Brad Burns (1996-99). Pittman also started in 201 games in his four-year career at MSU. (There is no listing for career starts, so this is considered an MSU record.)
Sophomores Tyler Owen and Justin Yount each recently passed their 100th career games in the last week, putting them next in line to challenge Pittman's mark.
