Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Players Mentioned
Racers Begin Final Stretch at Home Against EKU
5/4/2017 2:16:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 46-48
Murray State (22-23, 10-11 OVC) vs. Eastern Kentucky (22-23, 8-13 OVC)
May 5-7, 2017
First Pitch: Friday: 6 p.m., Saturday: 2 p.m., Sunday: 1 p.m.
Series History: EKU leads 63-56
Last Meeting: MSU 14, EKU 5 – May 15, 2016
Stadium: Reagan Field
Dimensions: 330 (LF) | 400 (CF) | 330 (RF)
Watch Live: Game one | Game two | Game three
Live Stats: Game one | Game two | Game three
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers look to get back on their hot streak after a recent two-game skid. MSU is coming off a 11-0 loss at Missouri on Tuesday. The Colonels meanwhile, have lost 9-of-10 as of late. Prior to its two-game losing streak, MSU had won a seasonbest five consecutive contests.
Inside the Series
MSU is 21-28 all-time at home against the Colonels, including going 1-2 two seasons ago the last time the two played at Reagan Field. The Racers are 10-10 at home so far in 2017 while EKU has just a 3-15 mark on the road. The Racers are looking for their first home series win over the Colonels since 2010.
STUDENT-Athletes
Jack Hranec and Kipp Moore were both selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team Thursday. The duo will now be eligible for one of the three CoSIDA Academic All-American Teams that will be announced May 17. Hranec has a 3.60 GPA in advertising while Moore has a 3.86 GPA in criminal justice.
Still Streaking
With a walk Tuesday in his second at-bat at Missouri, Brandon Gutzler improved his on-base streak to 43 games in a row. That mark is tied for the longest active streak in the country.
Scouting Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels are led by one of the best power hitters in the entire country in Ben Fisher who is second in the league and in the country with 20 home runs this season. Fisher trails only Morehead State's Niko Hulsizer for the most in the nation. Fisher also leads EKU with a .360 batting average, 12 doubles, 55 runs scored and 56 RBIs this season. Alex Holderbach is second on the team with a .352 average and is tied for second with 39 ribbies. Cornell Nixon leads the Colonels in stolen bases with 14 on the season. EKU has a very strong offensive team this year as the Colonels are hitting .295 as a team and averaging just over seven runs scored per game.
Alex Hamilton leads EKU with four wins this season, all in relief. while Caleb Johnson leads the squad with a 4.07 ERA and six saves. Jack Piekos leads the Colonels with 56.1 innings pitched and 59 strikeouts on the year and has a 3-5 record. Brian Mroz leads EKU in appearances with 22 on the year.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: Ryan Dills (RHP) (3-2, 5.57 ERA) vs. Eric Nerl (RHP) (0-3, 9.00 ERA)
Saturday: Austin Dubsky (RHP0 (2-6, 5.68 ERA) vs. Casey Collins (LHP) (2-1, 5.08 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs. Bryan Quillens (RHP) (2-2, 9.30 ERA)
