Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
13-19
Evansville
14-20
Top of Lineup Swings Breds to 12-6 Victory
4/10/2013 6:34:00 PM | Baseball
The first five hitters in the Murray State lineup went a combined 11-for-19 with 11 RBIs and nine runs scored as the Breds put an end to a seven-game losing streak with a 12-6 victory over Evansville Wednesday afternoon at Reagan Field.
Mike Kozlowski continued to swing a hot bat as he went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and has now driven in 11 runs in the past three games. Third baseman Brandon Elliott went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and three runs scored, while Dylan Wheeler was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Brandon Eggenschwiler was perfect at the plate as he went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, an RBI and three runs scored.
The Purple Aces (14-20) got on the board in the first inning as Chris Pearson delivered a one-out double to left field and scored on a Jason Hockemeyer single to center field.
MSU (13-19) got things going in the third inning as Nick Paradossi and Paul Ritzheimer both walked to start the frame. Stetson moved both runners with a bunt, before Elliott delivered an RBI groundout to second base. Eggenschwiler drew the third walk of the inning and Kozlowski followed with a two-run double to left center.
UE pulled within one run in the fourth as a walk and a bad-hop ball to short put runners on second and third with no outs. John Day plated the first run with a groundout to second and Nick Hathcoat followed with a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Breds came right back in the home half of the inning to extend the lead back to 7-3. Ben Lott started the inning with an infield single. With two outs, Stetson delivered an RBI triple to straight-away center field. Elliott followed with an RBI single through the right side to extend his hit streak to a career-best 11 games. A hustling Elliott took second and third on a wild pitch, ahead of Eggenschwiler's RBI single up the middle.
After the Aces scored a run in the top of the fifth, the Breds came right back in the bottom of the inning to get the run right back. Wheeler started the inning with a single through the left side. A failed pickoff attempt moved the runner to third before eventually scoring on an infield single from Ben Lott.
The MSU offense continued to have a big day in the sixth as Elliott reached on a bad hop grounder to short before going to third on Eggenschwiler's double to right field. Kozlowski drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly to right center and Wheeler followed with an RBI single to left field.
The Aces pulled to within four in the eighth as they loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. With two outs, Kevin Kaczmarski drove in two runs with a double to left center.
The Breds had yet another answer for the Aces as Elliott singled to center and Eggenschwiler walked to star the inning. Kozlowski delivered an RBI single up the middle and Wheeler followed with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Tim Vonder Haar (2-3) was credited with the victory after allowing one run on two hits in a predetermined three innings of work. Phillip Diehl (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over 1.2 innings.
The Breds return to action Friday afternoon as they open a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Jacksonville State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Johnny Reagan Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vonder Haar, Tim (2-3)
L: Diehl, Phillip (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Pearson, Chris 1 ; Kaczmarski, Kevin 1 ; Pollock, Kyle 1
RBI: Kaczmarski, Kevin 2 ; Hockemeyer, Jason 1 ; Day, John 2 ; Hathcoat, Nick 1
SF: Hathcoat, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pearson, Chris 2 ; Hockemeyer, Jason 1 ; Pollock, Kyle 1 ; McKibban, Eric 1 ; Ramon, Jonathan 1
SB: Patton, David 1
CS: Patton, David 1
HBP: Kaczmarski, Kevin 1 ; Hockemeyer, Jason 1 ; McKibban, Eric 1
Batting:
2B: Eggenschwiler, Brandon 1 ; Kozlowski, Mike 1
3B: Stetson, Ty 1
RBI: Stetson, Ty 1 ; Elliott, Brandon 2 ; Eggenschwiler, Brandon 1 ; Kozlowski, Mike 4 ; Wheeler, Dylan 3 ; Lott, Ben 1
SH: Stetson, Ty 1 ; Paradossi, Nick 1
SF: Kozlowski, Mike 1 ; Wheeler, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stetson, Ty 1 ; Elliott, Brandon 3 ; Eggenschwiler, Brandon 3 ; Kozlowski, Mike 1 ; Wheeler, Dylan 1 ; Lott, Ben 1 ; Paradossi, Nick 1 ; Ritzheimer, Paul 1
SB: Eggenschwiler, Brandon 1 ; Wheeler, Dylan 1 ; Lott, Ben 1
