Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
5-2
Louisiana-Monroe
3-4
Racers Secure Series Finale Over Warhawks
2/25/2024 9:15:00 PM | Baseball
Murray State has won back-to-back weekend series to start the 2024 season.
Murray State scored first in the first inning on a double from Dustin Mercer followed by an RBI base hit from Riley Hawthorne. The Warhawks followed that up with a leadoff solo home run on the second pitch thrown.
The Racers surged ahead and didn't look back with a seven-spot put up in the third inning. A bases-loaded walk drawn by Carson Garner gave MSU the lead followed by back-to-back fielding errors on balls hit from Taylor Howell and Dan Tauken to add two more runs.
Parker Estes extended the Racers' lead to five with his first base hit and RBIs of the season, scoring Garner and Howell. Drew Vogel capped off the big inning with a two-RBI double to center field.
Howell added his second RBI of the game on a single to center field in the top of the fourth inning to put Murray State up 9-1.
ULM would draw closer making it 9-3 in the fifth inning on a two-run homer, but the Racers added two of their own in the eighth inning on a throwing error and another RBI knock from Hawthorne.
The Warhawks tried to rally back by scoring two more in the ninth on an RBI single and a wild pitch, but the door was slammed shut on a ground out to Garner to end the game.
Allen Roulette picked up his second win of the year after going five innings in relief, striking out four batters while allowing four runs on six hits to keep the Warhawks at bay. Ryan Fender was efficient in his second start this year, going four innings allowing just one run on one hit and four walks while striking out five.
Five different Racers recorded a multi-hit game and all nine players in the starting lineup scored at least one run.
Murray State returns home to Reagan Field on Tuesday, February 27 to take on the North Alabama Lions at 3 p.m. in Murray, Kentucky.
For more information on the Murray State baseball program, visit GoRacers.com or @RacersBaseball on Instagram and X.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Roulette, Allen (2-0)
L: Seay, Paker (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Vogel, Drew 1 ; Mercer, Dustin 1
RBI: Vogel, Drew 2 ; Hawthorne, Riley 2 ; Garner, Carson 1 ; Howell, Taylor 2 ; Tauken, Dan 1 ; Estes, Parker 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Vogel, Drew 1 ; Mercer, Dustin 2 ; Hogart, Jonathan 2 ; Hawthorne, Riley 1 ; Garner, Carson 1 ; Howell, Taylor 1 ; Tauken, Dan 1 ; Estes, Parker 1 ; Bland, Logan 1
SB: Mercer, Dustin 1
CS: Mercer, Dustin 1
HBP: Garner, Carson 1 ; Bland, Logan 1
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Hasani 1 ; Weatherbee, Shawn 1
HR: Winfield, Easton 1 ; Artzberger, Michelle 1
RBI: Winfield, Easton 1 ; Artzberger, Michelle 2 ; Abshire, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Winfield, Easton 1 ; Lunsford, Colby 1 ; Artzberger, Michelle 1 ; Johnson, Hasani 1 ; Weatherbee, Shawn 1
SB: Lunsford, Colby 1
CS: Thibodeaux, Cardell 1
