Murray State
9-7, 2-1
Austin Peay
6-9, 1-2
Cozart's Huge Day Leads Racers Over Austin Peay
3/8/2020 4:43:00 PM | Baseball
For the second straight Sunday, the Murray State baseball team put up huge offensive numbers to close out a series, this time defeating Austin Peay, 20-2.
Ten different Racers had a hit in the game, led by Jordan Cozart who went 5-for-6 with three home runs and nine RBI. He became the first Racer with three home runs in a game since 2016 and is already the second Racer this year to have nine RBI in a game after Brock Anderson did so last Sunday against Bowling Green.
Jake Slunder also had a big day at the plate, collecting three hits and a career-high five RBI. Anderson and Trey Woosley also added home runs on the day while Sean Darmafall and Jordan Holly had the other RBIs for the Racers in the game.
On the mound, Sam Gardner had his best outing of the season, throwing six innings with a season-high nine strikeouts while allowing just one run and four hits. Justin Thomas pitched the final three innings, striking out a pair, to earn the save.
"The guys did a great job of responding after a tough loss yesterday," said head coach Dan Skirka. "At-bats were great up and down the order. Gardner settled in and really attacked after the first two batters of the game reached base. I couldn't be more proud of how they battled and went about their business this weekend."
Cozart gave the Racers an early lead in the first with an RBI single before hitting his first home run of the game, a grand slam, in the second inning. It is the second grand slam the Racers have hit this year and the second in Cozart's career.
After Slunder made it 8-0 in the third with a bases-loaded single, Cozart hit a solo home run in the fourth to give the Racers a 9-0 advantage.
Murray State doubled their lead in the sixth with nine runs on six hits, including two by Cozart. Anderson got the scoring started in the inning with a two-run home run before Slunder repeated his performance form three innings prior, hitting a two-run single with the bases loaded.
Darmafall continued the barrage with a two-run double before Cozart hit a three-run home run to right-center field, giving the Racers an 18-0 lead in the sixth inning.
Slunder added his fifth RBI of the day in the seventh with a fielder's choice before Woosley capped the scoring in the ninth with his first home run in a Racer uniform.
The Racers will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Florence, Alabama to take on North Alabama to wrap up a five-game road trip. They will return to Reagan Field next weekend when they battle Eastern Illinois.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gardner, Sam (3-0)
L: MONAGHAN, Nolan (0-1)
S: Thomas, Justin (1)
Batting:
2B: Darmafall, Sean 1 ; McPhee, Skylar 2 ; Holly, Jordan 1
HR: Cozart, Jordan 3 ; Anderson, Brock 1 ; Woosley, Trey 1
RBI: Slunder, Jake 5 ; Darmafall, Sean 2 ; Cozart, Jordan 9 ; Anderson, Brock 2 ; Woosley, Trey 1 ; Holly, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Slunder, Jake 2 ; Bloomer, Bryson 2 ; Darmafall, Sean 1 ; Cozart, Jordan 4 ; Anderson, Brock 1 ; Schad, Wes 1 ; Woosley, Trey 1 ; McPhee, Skylar 3 ; Crump, Alex 3 ; Holly, Jordan 2
SB: Slunder, Jake 1
HBP: Crump, Alex 2
PO: Anderson, Brock 1
Batting:
2B: AVROS, Gino 1 ; SPAIN, Garrett 1 ; TIPLER, Malcolm 1
RBI: SPAIN, Garrett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: AVROS, Gino 1 ; FOREMAN, TJ 1
SB: FOREMAN, TJ 1
PO: AVROS, Gino 1
