Racers Fall Just Short at Kentucky

Wednesday, March 4

Lexington, Ky.

3 p.m.

Murray State

7-6

Kentucky

7-6

Murray State

Kentucky

3/4/2020 8:34:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Murray State baseball team came back from two runs down in the ninth against Kentucky but unfortunately fell to the Wildcats as UK hit a walk-off home run in Lexington.

The top four hitters in the lineup, Jake Slunder, Ryan Perkins, Bryson Bloomer, and Brock Anderson, combined to go 10-for-17 at the plate with six RBI and five runs scored.

Those four players started the game with four consecutive hits as Perkins hit a two-run home to the deepest part of the ballpark before a triple by Anderson scored Bloomer. Anderson eventually came in to score on a groundout by McPhee, giving the Racers a 4-0 lead before Kentucky came to bat.

The Wildcats answered with a run in the bottom of the first and two runs in the second before taking a 7-4 lead with four runs in the third.

Murray State responded with two runs to get a little closer on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Holly and a double by Slunder, already his sixth extra-base hit this season, doubling his output from last year.

After the Wildcats scored an unearned run the fifth, Ryan Fender, Connor Holden, and Jake Jones kept it a two-run game until the ninth with three scoreless innings. The big moment came in the sixth when Fender came out of the bullpen with runners on second and third with no outs and kept Kentucky off the board.

In the ninth, Holly led off the inning with a walk before Perkins singled to give the Racers two baserunners with one out. After Bloomer collected his third hit of the game to make it a one-run game, Anderson knotted it up with a double to right field.

Unfortunately, the Racers were unable to push across the go-ahead run in the ninth leading to the walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.

The Racers return to action this weekend when they travel to Clarksville to take on Austin Peay to open OVC play. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m.