Racers Open Tournament Play Against UIC

Date (Time): Wednesday, May 22 (7:30 p.m. CT)
Site (Venue): Evansville, Ind. (Charles H. Braun Stadium)
Opponent: UIC Flames
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
All-Time Record vs. UIC: 40-6-1

The Racers are set to open play in the second round of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament against the UIC Flames on Wednesday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. CT at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.

Murray State's regular-season matchup against the Flames resulted in a series loss for the Racers in Chicago, two games to one. MSU took the series opener, 13-9, before the Flames would claim the next two games and take the series.

In the last six matchups against UIC the Racers are 2-4, but were unbeaten in the previous 24 games with a 23-0-1 record.

Scouting Report
UIC entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and took a first-round victory over No. 8 seed Missouri State on Tuesday. After trailing 6-2 to the Bears in the third inning of the tournament opener, the Flames rallied back to start the tournament off with a 9-8 win.

Zane Zielinski began the rally in the home half of the third with a sacrifice fly to draw UIC to within three runs. Ryan Nagelbach then cut the deficit to two runs with a solo homer in the sixth. Missouri State answered by extending their lead back to three with their own solo blast in the seventh.

In the eighth, UIC drew back to within two runs after AJ Taylor was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Jack Snyder then fulfilled the comeback with a go-ahead grand slam with two outs on the first pitch of his at-bat.

Weekly Notes
With Murray State clinching the No. 2 overall seed in the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament, the Racers have tied their highest regular season finish in conference play under head coach Dan Skirka, and the highest finish as members of the MVC. The Racers finished as the second overall seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in 2021.

After the Racers' win over Bradley on Saturday they earned their 37^th win of the season, which is now the second-most wins in a season in program history. The current school record sits at 40 wins that was set in 1975 under Murray State legend and head coach Johnny Reagan.

With Jonathan Hogart's home run in the seventh inning against Bradley in the series finale, the Racers eclipsed 100 home runs for the first time in program history. Murray State had previously broken the school record with their 85^th home run that was hit during the series at Missouri State. The Racers have also set team season records in home runs, runs scored, base hits and RBIs this year.

For more information on the Murray State baseball program, visit GoRacers.com or @RacersBaseball on Instagram and X.

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Hogart

Murray State University