Simon Elfrink
Sports Editor
Murray State baseball took the University of Kentucky on the road on Tuesday, March 16, defeating the Wildcats 13-8.
The win marks the first time the Racers bested the Wildcats since 2014, and it brought the Racers’ overall record to 8-8. Head Coach Dan Skirka shared his team’s excitement to take a win on the road against a good team.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Skirka said. “Total team effort. Five pitchers [did] a really good job, bunch of guys came up big on offense, made some plays on defense.”
Bats were cold early on in the game, with neither team able to get a run across until the third inning. The Racers’ redshirt sophomore designated hitter Brennan McCullough led off the third with a double to left field. Senior outfielder Jake Slunder walked to put a runner on first base and senior second baseman Jordan Cozart hit a ball to the Wildcats’ shortstop, who booted the ball and allowed McCullough to score. Senior outfielder Brock Anderson hit a three-run home run to right field to give the Racers a 4-0 lead.
The Wildcats answered back with a three-run homer of their own off the bat of senior outfielder Oraj Anu. The long ball served the Wildcats well again later on in the bottom of the fifth inning when graduate first baseman T.J. Collett and junior first baseman Trae Harmon each hit solo homers.
“We didn’t want to give them any freebies,” Skirka said. “We packed the zone, and they had a couple [hits] on some good pitches and sometimes that happens in baseball. But we always talk [about how] solo home runs aren’t going to beat us.”
Down 5-4 in the top of the sixth, the Racers got the chance to turn things around when they loaded the bases on a single from McCullough and a pair of walks. Slunder delivered for the Racers once again with a double to center field, driving in two more runs and putting runners at first and second for senior outfielder Ryan Perkins, who brought two more around with a single to center. Cozart hit a double to left field to bring Perkins in to score all the way from first base, and Anderson capped off the inning with a two-run shot to right field, giving the Racers an 11-5 lead.
Kentucky put up some resistance in the seventh, once again in the form of home runs. Sophomore outfielder John Jones hit a two-run blast to left-center field, and Collet hit his second homer of the day to left.
The onslaught continued for the Racers as redshirt junior catcher Alex Crump hit his first home run of the season, a two-run no-doubter over the left field wall. The Wildcats never recovered, and the score remained 13-8 by the end of the game. Skirka gave a lot of credit to his offense which he said has featured good at-bats more consistently than early on in the season.
“I think that’s the big thing,” Skirka said. “Now that we’ve been outside playing consistently and guys have been able to get BP and get at-bats under their belt you can just see them [get] a lot more comfortable in the box.”
Anderson had nothing short of a career day at the plate, going 3-5 with a pair of homers and five RBIs. Cozart went 2-5 with two doubles, and McCullough crossed the plate twice for the Racers, going 2-3 and scoring both times he was on base.
From the pitchers’ side, redshirt freshman right-hander Jacob Pennington got the start on the hill for the Racers. He struck out three batters and allowed three runs on four hits. Redshirt junior right-hander Jake Jones came in to pitch in the fourth inning, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out one batter. Jones was credited with the win after the game ended. Three more pitchers came in to sequentially finish the game, the last of which was redshirt junior righty Connor Holden, who earned the save for the Racers. Holden pitched 1.1 innings for the Racers, striking out two batters and allowing a single hit.
Skirka and the Racers will return to Johnny Reagan Field on Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m. to play a three-game series against Jacksonville State University.
“We’re ready to play at home, I’ll tell you that,” Skirka. “We’re excited to be back at Johnny Reagan.”
