Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
16-18
Evansville
18-15
Racers Drop Midweek Slugfest to Evansville
4/16/2019 9:34:00 PM | Baseball
In a high-scoring midweek affair, the Murray State baseball team fell to Evansville, 16-12, Tuesday evening at Reagan Field.
The Racers jumped out to a 4-1 lead after one inning, but the Murray State pitchers could not stop the Purple Aces from putting up two runs in the second and fourth inning before an eight-run fifth put the game out of reach.
"Tonight was a perfect example of needing everybody every night," said head coach Dan Skirka. "Couple guys don't do their jobs and it shows, not getting a hit in a key spot or getting an out on the mound when you need it. You need everybody every day."
Tyler Duke had a strong game at the plate for the Racers (16-18), going 4-6 with two home runs, three RBI, and two runs scored. Brock Anderson and Ryan Perkins also hit home runs for the MSU while Anderson scored three runs and Perkins had four RBI.
After the Aces jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Racers answered quickly in the bottom of the inning. Duke led off with a double which was followed by two walks to Jake Slunder and Anderson before Wes Schad was hit by a pitch to knot the game at one. Perkins gave the Racers the lead one pitch later on a two-run double over the right fielder's head and Schad extended the lead to 4-1 by scoring on a wild pitch.
Evansville scored two runs in the second and fourth on a couple of home runs, but the Racers responded in the bottom of the fourth as Duke hit his first home run of the night, a two-run shot to left-center. Slunder nearly went back-to-back, hitting a ball to the warning track before Anderson cleared the wall for a solo shot to give the Racers a 7-5 lead after four innings.
The fifth inning proved to be the difference maker as the Aces scored eight runs to take a 13-7 lead.
However, as they have done all year, the Racers kept fighting. Schad got one run back in the sixth with an RBI single and even after Evansville tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh, the Racers tried to make it a game again in the eighth as they scored four runs.
Duke led off the inning with his second home run before Perkins followed a couple of batters later with a two-run shot to right field. Cole Womack and Dylan Letellier tried to keep the rally going as they hit a double and single, respectively, to bring the Racers to within four, but that was as close Murray State would get the rest of the game.
The Racers will return to action this weekend as they travel to take on Belmont. With Easter on Sunday, the series will begin Thursday at 4 p.m. and conclude on Saturday.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steimel, Sam (2-0)
L: Hayes, Peyton (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Beilsmith, Troy 1 ; Shepherd, Craig 1 ; Reeder, Nate 1 ; Craig, Tanner 1 ; Borgstrom Danny 1 ; Jones, Matthew 1
HR: Beilsmith, Troy 1 ; Reeder, Nate 1 ; Troyer, Sam 1
RBI: Beilsmith, Troy 2 ; Shepherd, Craig 2 ; Reeder, Nate 3 ; Craig, Tanner 1 ; Borgstrom Danny 1 ; Troyer, Sam 3 ; Komonosky, Ben 1 ; Roberts, Eric 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Beilsmith, Troy 3 ; Shepherd, Craig 2 ; Reeder, Nate 2 ; Craig, Tanner 1 ; Borgstrom Danny 2 ; Troyer, Sam 2 ; Jones, Matthew 1 ; Komonosky, Ben 1 ; Roberts, Eric 2
SB: Shepherd, Craig 1 ; Troyer, Sam 1
HBP: Jones, Matthew 1 ; Komonosky, Ben 1
Batting:
2B: Duke, Tyler 1 ; Perkins, Ryan 1 ; Womack, Cole 1 ; Holly, Jordan 1
HR: Duke, Tyler 2 ; Anderson, Brock 1 ; Perkins, Ryan 1
RBI: Duke, Tyler 3 ; Anderson, Brock 1 ; Schad, Wes 2 ; Perkins, Ryan 4 ; Letellier, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duke, Tyler 4 ; Slunder, Jake 1 ; Anderson, Brock 3 ; Schad, Wes 1 ; Perkins, Ryan 1 ; Womack, Cole 1 ; Holly, Jordan 1
SB: Duke, Tyler 1
HBP: Schad, Wes 1
