Story by Keith Jaco
Staff writer
Following a postponed matchup with Southern Illinois University on Wednesday, the Murray State Racer baseball team opened up OVC play with a three-game homestand against the Austin Peay Governors on Sunday, March 10.
Due to weather and field conditions, the Racers were forced to play their fourth doubleheader of the young season against the Governors on Sunday before wrapping up the series on Monday, March 11.
After dropping game one, Murray State battled back to win two straight to earn its first series win of the season.
Head Coach Dan Skirka was pleased to see his team bounce back from a tough loss in game one.
“It all started with our pitching,” Skirka said. “[In] game one Trevor McMurray pitched a great game and deserved to win but we couldn’t get anything going offensively. Guys stayed the course and got rewarded for that offensively and with the great pitching from everyone else we came out with two wins.”
Another matchup with Austin Peay means another chance for each school to score points in the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border. Each win during baseball season earns the winning school two points. Murray State currently holds a comfortable lead over Austin Peay, 26-11.
Murray State went quietly in game one, suffering a 2-0 loss in which the Racers only recorded two hits. Junior right-handed pitcher Trevor McMurray threw seven innings of one-run ball, walking five and striking out seven.
Run support was no problem in game two as the Racers jumped on the Governors early, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning.
A pair of home runs gave Murray State a three-run lead through just three batters as junior outfielder Tyler Duke blasted a lead-off home run followed by a two-run homer from junior outfielder Brock Anderson.
One error and three consecutive singles later, the Racers held a commanding six-run lead at the end of the first inning.
Austin Peay and Murray State each scored one run in the second, bringing the score to 7-1 heading into the top of the third.
Following a scoreless third, Murray Stated led off the fourth with back-to-back singles before tacking on another run on a fielder’s choice by junior outfielder Ryan Perkins.
Redshirt junior infielder Max Remy helped pull the Governors within six in the top of the fifth on an RBI groundout, cutting the lead to 8-2.
Murray State added to its lead in the bottom half of the sixth as Anderson crushed his second homer of the day. Following a one-out walk, Perkins scored on a sacrifice fly from junior outfielder Sean Darmafall, giving the Racers a 10-2 lead.
The Governors played some small ball in the top of the seventh, moving senior catcher David Martinez from second to third before scoring him on a sacrifice fly from freshman outfielder Matt Joslin.
The Racers went on to get this run back, scoring Perkins on a Darmafall single in the bottom of the eighth, giving Murray State an 11-3 lead.
Austin Peay went quietly in the top half of the ninth as the Racers secured their fourth win of the season.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Shane Burns picked up his first collegiate win in game two, throwing seven innings and giving up three earned runs while issuing one walk and striking out six.
In the rubber match on Monday, March 11, the Racers earned their first shutout of the season, defeating the Governors 4-0.
Murray State received consistent scoring to begin the day, getting one run in each of its first three innings.
Anderson got the Racers on the board in the bottom of the first, hitting his third home run of the series and fifth homer of the season. Anderson’s solo blast put Murray State up 1-0 at the end of one inning of play.
Junior catcher Bryan Chilton gave the Racers a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the second with an RBI single, scoring redshirt freshman third baseman Wes Schad.
In the bottom of the third, junior first baseman knocked home Anderson with an RBI single, putting the Racers up 3-0 through three innings.
Murray State and Austin Peay went scoreless until the bottom of the seventh as Anderson helped give the Racers a 4-0 lead. Back-to-back walks and a hit by pitch gave the Racers the bases loaded with no outs. Anderson jumped on the first pitch of the at-bat, sending a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring redshirt sophomore second baseman Jordan Holly.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jake Jones earned his first win of the season, tossing five innings of scoreless baseball, walking three and striking out four.
Skirka believes the key to continued success for the Racers lies within sticking to the team’s gameplan.
“We always look to improve everyday,” Skirka said. “Our process is the same whether we’re playing Kentucky State or [University of] Kentucky, we worry about us and what we’re doing and when we take care of business on our end we’ll be successful.”
Murray State will be back in action at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, at Reagan Field as they welcome the Kentucky State Thorobreds.
