Racers Earn Senior Day Victory Over UTM

Saturday, May 20

Reagan Field

11 a.m.

Murray State

27-28, 15-15

UT Martin

25-29, 12-18

UT Martin

Murray State

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

5/20/2017 5:51:00 PM | Baseball

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Murray State had to sit through over three and a half hours of weather delays on Saturday at Reagan Field, but in the end, the Racers sent the seniors out with an 8-5 victory over UT Martin to close the regular season.

UT Martin (25-29, 12-18 OVC) took the first lead of the contest after the first rain delay, which lasted almost an hour. The Skyhawks were able to score in the top of the third inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Racers (27-28, 15-15 OVC) were able to score a pair of unearned runs to take a 2-1 lead. Reed Thompson scored on an RBI groundout from Adam Bauer to tie the game and in the next at-bat, a Brandon Gutzler sacrifice fly RBI brought home Aaron Bence.

In the middle of the fourth, the two teams took their second delay of the game - this one lasted nearly two hours for lightning. The Racers got one batter in the bottom of the fourth, a Davis Sims double before one final lightning delay was called, lasting 45 minutes. Once play resumed, a Jaron Robinson RBI single up the middle brought home Sims and put MSU out front 3-1.

After a UTM run in the fifth made it 3-2, Jack Hranec dealt the key blow in the bottom of the frame as his three-run home run to right center put the Racers up 6-2. It was Hranec's 11^th homer of the season. Ryan Perkins made the score 7-2 in the sixth with an RBI single.

The Skyhawks would not go away quietly however, scoring three runs in the eighth inning to make the score 7-5. Robinson would give MSU another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when he led off with a triple to right center and would come home to score on the play thanks to a Skyhawk error. Chad Gendron was then able to close the door in the ninth to preserve the Senior Day victory.

Robinson led the Racers at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs while Bauer was 2-of-4 at the dish, the only to Racers to record multiple hits on the day. UTM actually out-hit the Racers in the contest, 13-10.

Luke Brown got the win in the pre-determined split start as he went three innings and allowed just the one run on three hits. John Lollar, Justin Perkins and Derrik Watson all appeared in relief in the win while Gendron picked up his seventh save on the year by pitching the final three innings.

The Racers return to action Wednesday, as they will play their first OVC Tournament game since 2010. MSU opens the tournament, held at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., against Belmont in a 3 p.m. contest.