Story by Gage Johnson, Staff writer

Game one:

After losing a heartbreaker in extra innings on the road, Murray State traveled back home for a three-game series with Eastern Illinois. The Racers came away with a 7-4 victory on Friday, March 26.

Racer junior pitcher Peyton Hayes got the starting nod for the sixth time this season on Friday. Hayes came in with a loss to Austin Peay in which he gave up five earned runs in just as many innings. Junior pitcher Tyler Jones made his fourth start of the season for the Panthers. Jones came in with an impressive start to the season, going 2-1 with an ERA of 0.60 in his first three games.

The two pitchers breezed through each lineup in the first inning. However, both teams hit the books in the second. Three singles for EIU allowed them to gain the first lead of the ballgame at 1-0. Murray State then capitalized on the Panthers’ mistakes in the bottom of the second.

After two Racers reached base because of an error and a walk, junior shortstop Jaron Robinson singled to center field. Both runners scored on the play, giving Murray State a 2-1 lead going into the third inning.

The two teams battled back and forth over the next few innings, answering run for run. That was until EIU put together a big inning in the top of the seventh. After a one-out single, senior infielder Dougie Parks hit his sixth homer of the season. This blast to left field from Parks tied the game up at 4-4.

With the game going down to the wire, Murray State had a big inning of its own in the bottom of the eighth. Graduate student outfielder Gavin Wehby got the rally started with a leadoff single. Fellow graduate student outfielder Brandon Guntzler followed it up with a two-run bomb, his fifth on the year. After the next Racer hitter was retired, graduate student first baseman Ramsey Scott hit a solo shot to cap off the offensive attack.

Scott’s fifth home run of the season extended Murray State’s lead to 7-4 going into the ninth inning. Senior pitcher Tyler Anderson then shut down Eastern Illinois in the top of the ninth to claim the 7-4 win and earn his second victory of the season.

Game two:

After the second game of the series was postponed on Friday, March 23, Murray State matched up against Eastern Illinois on Saturday in the cold rain, coming away with the 13-7 win.

Racer junior pitcher Blake Clynes started out on the mound for the fifth time this season. Clynes came in struggling as of late, giving up nine earned runs combined in his last two starts. Eastern Illinois sophomore pitcher Alex Stevenson made his sixth start on the bump on the season. Stevenson came in looking to change his fortune, having lost his last three starts.

It was the Panthers who struck first on this rainy day in their first at-bat of the ballgame. The first run of the inning crossed the plate on an error by graduate student first baseman Ramsey Scott. A hit by pitch and a walk given up by Clynes then allowed two more runs to cross the plate, giving the Panthers an early 3-0 lead.

Both teams fought back and forth, adding on runs to their totals over the next few innings. However, neither team had really broken the seal until Murray State struck in the bottom of the fourth.

Two home runs in the inning did the damage for the Racers. It was junior shortstop Jaron Robinson who struck first, hitting a two-run blast to left-center. Scott then hit his sixth home run of the season to give Murray State an 8-4 lead going into the fifth inning.

Eastern Illinois fought back in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs to cut its deficit to 8-6. However, Murray State’s offense continued to prosper. After graduate student outfielder Ryan Perkins reached base after a walk, Robinson hit his second home run of the game and season. This homer to left field made it a 10-6 Racer lead.

The Panthers added three more runs in the ballgame, but Murray State’s offense did just the same, helping them come away with the 13-7 win. Robinson led the way for the Racers, driving in five runs on the day to go along with his two home runs.

This win puts Murray State at .500 in conference play with a 4-4 OVC record. The Racers will look to get over the hump when they play the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, at Reagan Field.

Game three:

Murray State baseball completed the sweep over Eastern Illinois in its series finale on Sunday with a 5-0 win.

Sophomore pitcher Luke Brown started out on the mound for Murray State for the fourth time this season. Brown has struggled early on this year, owning a 7.32 ERA over the course of his seven appearances. Junior pitcher Carson Haws got his sixth starting nod of the year for the Panthers. Haws has also had his fair share of struggles, owning an 8.77 ERA over his seven appearances on the season.

Murray State got things rolling in the bottom of the first. The first two batters of the inning were walked to start the Racers’ rally. The leadoff walks were followed up by an error on the Eastern Illinois second baseman, allowing the first run of the game to cross the plate for Murray State. The Racers then tacked on to their lead with an RBI single from junior catcher Mike Farnell, making it a 2-0 ballgame.

That was all Brown would need to hold the Racers’ lead. While Murray State did add three runs to their lead later in the ballgame, the Racer pitching staff was in control of the ballgame.

Brown had arguably his best performance of the season, only allowing three hits over six innings pitched. Brown walked two batters in the ballgame, but made up for it with two strikeouts. Freshman pitcher Brayden Cook offered relief for Brown in the seventh inning. Cook provided two solid innings, giving up two hits and striking out two to hold the Panthers scoreless.

Sophomore pitcher Alec Whaley then came in to close out the ballgame. After giving up a double to start the inning, Whaley retired the next three batters. This shutout pitching performance from the Racers helped them claim a 5-0 victory to earn the series sweep over EIU.

Now owning a winning record in OVC play (5-4), Murray State will look to add on to their 14-11 record when they take on Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, in Jacksonville, Alabama.