Pair of Racer Rallies Fall Short in Doubleheader

Saturday, April 21

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

2 p.m.

Murray State

17-21, 5-12

Southeast Missouri

19-20, 13-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Murray State	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	1	6	7	0
Southeast Missouri	0	4	0	0	1	0	2	1	X	8	13	1

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

4/21/2018 9:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Murray State had a pair of rallies fall short Saturday in Cape Girardeau, Mo., as the Racers fell in both games of a doubleheader to Southeast Missouri, losing game one, 8-6 and the second contest, 7-5.

The Racers (17-22, 5-13 OVC) fell behind 7-2 in both contests before finding their footing in the later innings of the double-dip. In game one, SEMO (20-20, 14-7 OVC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a four-run second inning. In the fifth, the Racers got on the board for the first time on the day as Ryan Perkins delivered a two-run home run to right center field. His fourth homer of the season cut the deficit in half, 4-2.

After runs in the fifth and seventh pushed the Redhawk lead to 7-2, another two-run blast, this time from Ramsey Scott, made it 7-4. It was Scott's team-leading seventh long ball of the season. In the next at-bat, Mike Farnell got a solo dinger to make it 7-5.

SEMO made it 8-5 with another run in the eighth. In the ninth, Perkins delivered an RBI double to left center field to make it 8-6, but later in the inning with the bases loaded, the Racers struck out to end the rally.

Perkins went 2-for-3 at the plate with the three ribbies in the loss while Farnell and Scott both went 2-for-4 with Farnell scoring a team-best two runs. Peyton Hayes suffered the loss on the mound for the Racers in game one as he pitched two-plus innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. MSU used four different relievers in the game one loss.

In game two, SEMO again took an early lead with a run in the second, but Davis Sims hit his program record-tying 22^nd double of the season in the top of the third to score two and put the Racers up 2-1. However, a six-run bottom of the inning put the Redhawks ahead 7-2.

MSU got back into things in the fifth when Farnell belted his second homer of the day and in the sixth, Brandon Gutzler hit his sixth to cut the Racers' deficit to 7-4. Later in the inning, Jaron Robinson made it 7-5 with an RBI single that scored Perkins. SEMO was able to shut the door on the Racers the rest of the way, however.

Luke Brown got the loss in the start as he pitched two innings and allowed five earned runs. Chance Carner and Alec Whaley both appeared in relief. Whaley was phenomenal out of the bullpen as he pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball and recorded a career-best seven strikeouts.

Offensively, Gutzler led MSU at the plate going 3-for-4 while Farnell was 2-of-4 with a pair of runs scored. With his double, Sims extended his reached base streak to 34 consecutive games now.

The Racers return to home action Tuesday at 6 p.m., as Memphis comes to town.