Jakob Milani
Sports Editor
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Murray State baseball’s losing streak hit eight games on Tuesday, April 12, as the Racers lost to the University of Mississippi Rebels 8-2.

The Rebels, ranked 25 in the AP polls, piled on a few runs to start the game, then tacked on another five runs later on to cap a single game series against the Racers.

Sophomore right-hander Ryan Fender took the mound for the Racers, getting his first start of the season and showing a 5.73 ERA entering the game. His day was short, though, as he was pulled after giving up three runs through five batters faced.

The first run came from a double by senior center fielder Justin Bench to bring in sophomore shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. Then, senior left fielder Kevin Graham hit a lineout to sophomore right fielder Cade Sammons –  enough to bring Bench home for the second run.

Sophomore third baseman Reagan Burford capped off the first inning with one more run:  a single to the shortstop that brought home senior first baseman Tim Elko for the third run of the inning.

Junior left-handed pitcher Hayden Wynja relieved Fender after the three runs, then struck out two batters to get the Racers out of the first inning.

Following the first, the Racers threw four straight scoreless innings, using a different pitcher every inning and allowing three hits through those four innings.

The Racers ended their scoring drought in the top of the sixth inning when Sammons stepped up to the plate and hit a double to right field. The hit brought home junior outfielder Seth Gardner, who was pinch running. That put the Racers on the board with just three innings to go.

The Rebels answered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, forcing the Racers to go through three pitchers in the inning.

The first run came on a wild pitch from sophomore right-handed pitcher Cade Killingswort, which allowed sophomore designated hitter Kemp Alderman to come home.

Gonzalez came up to bat later in the inning and smacked a double into right field. The double brought in junior right fielder Banks Tolley and sophomore catcher Calvin Harris to make it 6-1 for Ole Miss.

Bench came up to bat next and hit a double into left field to bring home Gonzalez and tack on another job. 

The Rebels’ final run came off a double from Graham to right field to bring home Bench and give them an 8-2 lead heading into the seventh inning. 

While the Racers held Ole Miss scoreless in the final two innings, they managed to add one more run to their total in the top of the eighth inning. 

Junior right-handed pitcher Mitch Murrell took over for the Rebels in the eighth, and after allowing two baserunners, he threw a wild pitch that gave Sammons enough time to score and give the Racers their second run of the game.

That’s all the Racers could gather up, though, as they couldn’t get any more runs to cross in the final two innings. The Rebels were victorious, defeating the Racers 8-2.

Sammons, an Ole Miss transfer, hit two of the Racers four hits in the game, going 2-4 with an RBI and a run. The Racers struck out 16 times through 31 batters, leaving seven runners on base. 

Murray State pitchers struck out five Rebels’ batters in the game and allowed 14 hits through 35 batters. The Rebels left eight batters on base through eight innings but had seven RBIs in the game.

Murray State drops to 15-16 on the season, despite starting the season 7-0. The Racers travel back to Murray for a three-game series against UT Martin. The series begins Thursday and wraps up on Saturday, April 16, with game one set to start at 5 p.m.