Simon Elfrink
Sports Editor
Murray State baseball suffered three losses at the hands of No. 1 ranked University of Arkansas on March 5-7.
Despite some powerful hitting by the Racers, the Razorbacks proved why they are seeded atop the nation with elite pitching and offense. While Murray State came up short in all three contests, the Racers had Arkansas on the ropes early on in both games. Head Coach Dan Skirka said that while coming up empty in a season series is never preferable, the opportunity to compete is never a bad thing.
“This time of year it’s just good to play, period,” Skirka said. “Then when you get a chance to play against a team of that caliber it creates some opportunities for you and you learn a lot about your team, offensively, defensively and on the mound. I think that’s the big thing moving forward. I’m proud of the way they battled and competed and went toe-to-toe against one of the best in the country.”
Game One
Sophomore left-hander Shane Burns got the start on the hill for the Racers during the first game on Friday, March 5. Burns was sharp for the first two innings of play, allowing only a single hit to a red-hot Razorbacks’ lineup. The Racers managed to give Burns a one-run lead to work with in the top of the third after senior catcher Tanner Booth led off with a double. Senior outfielder Ryan Perkins later drove him home with a two-out single.
However, the third inning found Burns in some hot water after he walked the first two batters of the inning. A base hit followed by a triple let the Razorbacks run the length of the base paths, scoring a trio of runs in the bottom of the third.
The Racers came back offensively, getting a man in scoring position after a single and a walk. Redshirt senior Jake Slunder singled to left field, bringing home another run to shorten the run deficit to one.
Burns surrendered the mound to redshirt sophomore right-hander Jacob Pennington after striking out four batters in three innings, walking five and earning all three runs.
Pennington held Arkansas in the fourth and fifth innings, giving the Racers an opportunity to tie things up.
The Racers’ bats exploded in the top of the fifth inning with a pair of two-run home runs. The first by senior outfielder Brock Anderson and then by senior first-baseman Trey Woosley, giving the Racers a 6-3 lead over the Razorbacks.
When Pennington got a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the fifth on two strikeouts and a flyout to left field, things were looking good for a Racers win.
However, Arkansas had other plans. With two outs and a runner on first base in the bottom of the sixth inning, sophomore infielder Robert Moore mashed a two-run home run over the right field fence, cutting the Racers’ lead to one run.
A pair of zeros on the scoreboard from the Racers opened things up for Arkansas. It was Moore who delivered the crushing blow in the bottom of the eighth inning with another homer, this time a two-run shot to the same place as before, giving the Razorbacks a 7-6 lead. The scoreboard reflected the same score three outs later when the Racers failed to tie the game and took a loss in the first matchup of the series.
Game Two
The Racers bounced back the next day, Saturday, March 6, ready to settle the score. They came out hot, giving the Racers’ starting pitcher, graduate right-hander Sam Gardner, an early lead. Woosley broke things open for the Racers, hammering another ball to deep right field for another two-run home run. Senior catcher Alex Crump kept the ball rolling with a double down the left field line, only to swap places a couple at-bats later with Slunder, who doubled down the same line. Perkins then followed up with a double of his own, scoring Slunder and making the score 4-0 in favor of the Racers.
Arkansas had a response for the Racers’ offense and put up a crooked number in the bottom of the second to make it a 4-3 game.
The Racers’ offense continued to produce in the fourth inning. Following a single and a stolen base from junior outfielder Brennan McCullough, Slunder stayed hot with an RBI single to right field.
Arkansas put the pressure on Gardner in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases on a single, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Senior right-hander Jake Jones came in for Gardner, getting a batter to fly out before junior outfielder Christian Franklin hit a bases-clearing double to turn the tides on the Racers and give Arkansas a 6-5 lead.
Arkansas took their turn stringing runs together at the plate, adding two more in the sixth, one in the seventh and two more in the eighth on a two-run homer from junior infielder Brady Slavens.
The Racers only managed to score once more during the seventh inning when senior infielder Bryson Bloomer hit an RBI single to left field and scored Perkins.
Game Three
The Racers’ resistance ran out during the last game of the series when the Racers’ pitching staff walked nine batters, making it easier for the Razorbacks to put up runs, which they did. After walking the leadoff batter, freshman righty Jack Wenninger allowed a single and a sacrifice fly, giving Arkansas an early 1-0 lead.
The Razorbacks struck again in the fourth inning, putting a three on the scoreboard when redshirt junior infielder Jacob Nesbit hit a three-run home run to left field. Arkansas tallied two more in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of sacrifice flies. The score remained 6-0 to the end of the game, resulting in the third loss of the weekend for the Racers.
Despite the lackluster record on the weekend, Skirka was happy with the performances from players like Slunder and Woosley. Slunder went 4-12 on the weekend with a double and three RBIs. From a statistical standpoint, the series against Arkansas could be considered his best of the season so far. Woosley went 4-11 at the plate and drove in four runners for the Racers.
“[Slunder and Woosley] really stepped up,” Skirka said. “That’s kinda how we’ve been all year. If you look at how we’ve done, we’ve been pretty inconsistent but there’s been guys who have stepped up and helped us win games and compete in those games. So this weekend it was those two guys. Jake and Trey did a phenomenal job all around.”
The Racers will gear up to take on the University of Louisville on Tuesday, March 9, before a three-game series against Eastern Illinois University on Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13.
“It’s a process, whether we’re playing Louisville, Arkansas, or EIU, you gotta go about your business the same,” Skirka said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to seeing them [do], just to build on that.”
