Keith Jaco
Staff writer
Murray State baseball hit a rough patch over the weekend, suffering a series sweep to the Belmont Bruins on Saturday.
Despite holding leads late in multiple games against Belmont, late-game heroics helped propel the Bruins over the Racers.
Game one:
Junior right fielder Brock Anderson got the Racers on the board early in game one, tripling on a 1-2 count to bring home redshirt sophomore left fielder Jake Slunder. Redshirt freshman Wes Schad followed with a sacrifice fly to score Anderson.
Junior first baseman Ryan Perkins hit a solo home run to give the Racers a 3-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
Following three scoreless frames, a wild pitch by Bruins junior left-handed pitcher Justin Fowlkes brought home Anderson, followed by Perkins’ second home run of the game, gave Murray State a 5-0 lead in the top of the fifth.
The Bruins went on to cut the lead to two in the bottom half of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits as Belmont trailed 5-3 heading into the eighth.
Redshirt freshman pinch hitter C.J. Bush sent a sacrifice fly to center field in the top half of the eighth, extending the Racers’ lead to 6-3.
Despite a late three-run lead for the Racers, Belmont went on to use a six-run bottom of the eighth to take a 9-6 lead before shutting out the Racers in the ninth for the win in game one.
Game two:
In game two, the Racers jumped out to another early lead on a wild pitch from Bruins senior right-handed pitcher Casey Queener, scoring Slunder.
Belmont responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, tying the game 1-1 at the end of three innings of play.
The Bruins took their first lead of the game in the home half of the fourth, scoring three runs on three hits and leaving one on base, giving themselves a 4-1 lead heading into the fifth.
The Racers went on to get two runs back in the top of the fifth on a throwing error by Queener and a sacrifice fly from Slunder as Murray State now trailed 4-3.
A grand slam from freshman designated hitter Tommy Crider and an RBI single from sophomore catcher Jackson Campbell gave the Bruins a 9-3 at the end of the fifth.
A three-run home run from junior third baseman Jordan Cozart and a two-run homer from Anderson in the top of the sixth cut the Racers’ deficit to one. Cozart added another run on an RBI groundout before the end of the inning, tying the game 9-9.
The tied game didn’t last long, as Belmont added four runs in the home half of the seventh, retaking the lead 13-9.
The Racers’ comeback fell short as a two-run top of the ninth was not enough to catch the Bruins and the Racer fell 13-11 in game two.
Game three:
Senior center fielder Tyler Duke gave the Racers a 1-0 lead to start game three, scoring on a wild pitch from Bruins freshman right-handed pitcher Joshua South.
Murray Stated added to its lead in the top of the fifth as Bush singled to center field and Slunder sent a sacrifice fly to left field, giving the Racers a 3-0 lead.
Following scoreless sixth and seventh innings, the Bruins scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to take their first lead of the game, 4-3.
With two runners on and two outs in the top of the ninth, the Racers’ comeback fell short once again as the Bruins took gam three, 4-3.
Despite suffering multiples heartbreaking losses, Skirka believes his guys will rebound and be ready for next week’s action.
“Our guys have bounced back all year,” Skirka said. “It’s tough [because] we outplayed them 24 out of the 27 innings, but that’s the game of baseball. You can’t run out the clock or sit on it; You have to get all 27 outs.”
Murray State will be back in action against Saint Louis at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, at the Billikens Sports Center.
