Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
20-10, 7-0
Belmont
10-20, 2-5
Racers Down Belmont 9-3 in Front of Record Home Crowd
4/2/2026 10:26:00 PM | Baseball
MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State Baseball defeated Belmont in front of a record-setting crowd of 1,028 in the first home action at Johnny Reagan Field of the 2026 season, powered by a home run from Kristofer Hokenson and dominant performances on the mound from Nic Schutte and Ben Rosin.
"We had people here two hours before the game roaming around, excited to see the Racers," head coach Dan Skirka said. "It's awesome. I'm kind of speechless about that. You see the crowd and hear them when Hokenson hit that big home run, it was awesome."
Hokenson had a strong performance at the plate, hitting a three-run shot in the second inning after adding a single in the first. His two-hit, three-RBI day extended his reached-base streak to 23 and marked his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
Luke Mistone also had a big day at the plate, collecting three hits in five at-bats with two doubles and four RBIs. Mistone brought his RBI total to 35 on the year, which leads the Missouri Valley Conference.
Daylan Pena and Colby Ott each tallied two-hit performances, while Ott scored three times in the contest.
On the mound, Nic Schutte earned his fifth win of the season behind six innings of work, allowing two earned runs with seven strikeouts and no walks. Schutte's performance brought his career strikeout total to 135.
Ben Rosin closed out the game, tossing three hitless innings to earn his fourth save of the season. Rosin struck out five batters without allowing a walk.
The combined effort from Schutte and Rosin marked just the second time this season the Racer pitching staff did not allow a walk in a game.
"I thought our pitchers did a fantastic job," Skirka said. "Schutte comes out, hits the first guy, but after that was really, really good. After the second inning, through the ninth, we got the leadoff guy out, no more freebies, we didn't walk anybody. I am really proud of the two of them."
The Racers will look to secure the series Friday in game one of a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Schutte, Nic (5-2)
L: Tate Marland (1-2)
S: Rosin, Ben (4)
Batting:
HR: Brady Holbrook 1
RBI: Cavan McMeans 1 ; Brady Holbrook 1 ; Brody Langlotz 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Charlie Davis 1 ; Mike Sprockett 1 ; Brady Holbrook 1
HBP: Charlie Davis 3
PO: Cavan McMeans 1
Batting:
2B: Mistone, Luke 2 ; Pena, Daylan 1
HR: Hokenson, Kristofer 1
RBI: Mistone, Luke 4 ; Hokenson, Kristofer 3 ; Perritano, Anthony 1 ; Ott, Colby 1
SF: Ott, Colby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chisolm, Connor 1 ; Mistone, Luke 1 ; Hokenson, Kristofer 1 ; Jorge, Kainen 1 ; Cunningham, Conner 1 ; Airhart, Parker 1 ; Ott, Colby 3
CS: Pena, Daylan 1
HBP: Cunningham, Conner 2 ; Ott, Colby 1
