Murray State
Central Arkansas
'Breds Outlast Central Arkansas 1-0 In Pitching Gem
3/11/2008 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
Junior left-hander Daniel Calhoun gave a tremendous performance on the mound today for the Murray State Thoroughbreds, striking out 10 batters and walking none in eight innings of work, and picking up the win in a 1-0 pitchers' duel at Reagan Field that lasted less than two hours.
Calhoun took control early on, retiring the first eight batters he faced and scattering five hits over eight innings. He threw 92 pitches (averaging 11.5 pitches per inning), 66 for strikes, and had the count reach two balls only six times in the game, never reaching three balls.
Murray State (5-3) was the first to reach base, as Kyle Tiernan hit a deep-infield single in the first inning, but was stranded on first. Central Arkansas (6-8) had runners on second and third in the third inning, but left them on, then the Bears had a runner on third base in the fourth inning and stranded him as well.
In the fifth inning, UCA's Chris Houk led off with a double, but Bobby Pritchett's sacrifice bunt attempt popped up off of the bat, and Calhoun ran in, dove and caught the ball for an out, keeping Houk at second. The next two batters grounded out, preserving the shutout.
In the bottom of the eighth, Matt Hon led off with a single to left, and Matt Scheer pinch-ran for him. Andrew Cella sacrificed him to second, and he went to third on a groundout. Elliot Frey laced a triple down the right-field line to score Scheer for the only run of the game. Jake Donze retired the side in the Bears' ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
Tiernan had two hits in the game, while Frey, Hon and Brooks Thornton each got hits, with Frey getting a triple. On defense, catcher Daniel Miller had a game-high 12 putouts, while third baseman Hon had a game-high five assists.
For Central Arkansas, Tye Throneberry had two hits, while Houk had a double and Payton Seelinger, Chris Davis and Scott Cline each had singles. On defense, first baseman Seelinger had a team-high eight putouts, while third baseman Jonathan Yerby had four putouts.
Calhoun (1-0) got the win as a starter, allowing no runs on six hits, striking out 10 and walking none in eight innings. Donze came on in the ninth and earned his second save of the season, facing the minimum three batters and striking out two.
Reece Cross (0-1) took the loss, but also pitched a whale of a game, allowing one run on four hits, striking out five and walking none in seven-plus innings. He threw 90 pitches, 63 for strikes. Michael Wild entered in the eighth inning, allowing no runs on one hit in one inning.
Murray State and Central Arkansas will face each other again on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at MSU's Reagan Field.
