Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Players Mentioned
Racers Head to EKU For OVC Action
5/3/2018 1:45:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 45-47
Murray State (20-24, 7-14 OVC) at Eastern Kentucky (25-21, 14-7 OVC)
May 4-6, 2018
First Pitch: Friday: 1Â p.m., Saturday: 3 p.m., Sunday: 12 p.m.
Stadium: Combs Stadium
Dimensions: 330 (LF) | 415 (CF) | 340 (RF)
Series History: EKU leads the all-time series 64-58
Last Meeting: MSU 4, EKU 10 – May 7, 2017
Watch Live: OVC Digital Network (Friday and Saturday)
Live Stats
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers hit the road after a five-game home stand in search of their first conference road victory as they travel to face Eastern Kentucky for a three-game set. The Colonels may be the hottest team in the OVC currently, having won 9-of-10 lately. EKU is 13-4 at home this season and won 2-of-3 at JSU last weekend.
Inside The Series
MSU is 23-29 all-time at EKU and won 2-of-3 the last time the two teams met in Richmond back in 2016. The Racers have won five of the last seven in the series and are 5-4 against the Colonels under coach Moulder. EKU leads the all-time series 64-58. MSU and EKU have met in the month of May each year dating back to 2010.
Hit Parade
MSU recorded a season-high 23 hits May 1 in the win over Alabama A&M. The Racers recorded seven extra-base hits in the win and had seven players with multiple hits in the game.
On-Base Machines
Davis Sims has reached base safely in 40 consecutive games, dating back to February 25. Sims has reached base safely in all but one game this season and has a top-10 active streak nationally. Grant Wood meanwhile leads the league and is eighth nationally in on-base percentage at a .511 clip.
Scouting Eastern Kentucky
Alex Holderbach leads a high-powered Eastern Kentucky offense with a .377 batting average, while his 15 home runs and 65 RBIs both lead the OVC. Ryland Kerr leads the Colonels with 49 runs and 18 doubles in 2018. EKU is a terror on the base paths as it is 83- for-99 on stolen-base attempts this season. Cornell Nixon's 27 stolen bases is by far the highest mark in the league. The Colonels have three other players with double-digit steals in 2018. As a team, EKU has a .295 batting average and is scoring 7.4 runs per game.
Logan Teague leads EKU with five victories on the mound, 59.2 innings pitched and 43 strikeouts. Austin Perry has a team-best 3.29 ERA this season and a 4-1 record. The Colonels have three players that have appeared in a team-high 17 games this season. Aaron Ochsenbein is one of those and leads EKU with eight saves. Eastern Kentucky has a team ERA of 6.14 and an opponent batting average of .295.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game one: Trevor McMurray (RHP) (4-2, 5.20 ERA) vs. Logan Teague (RHP) (5-4, 5.58 ERA)
Game two: Luke Brown (LHP) (2-4, 7.90 ERA) vs. Jack Piekos (LHP) (2-3, 5.50 ERA)
Game three: TBA vs. Bryan Quillens (RHP) (2-1, 6.26 ERA)
