After the Murray State baseball team’s home opener against St. Thomas was cancelled due to inclement weather, they were finally able to play at Johnny Reagan Field on Feb. 24 and 25 against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the UT Martin Skyhawks.
Game one against WKU was what many would call a pitcher’s duel, and it saw the Racers winning 2-1 after a walkoff from redshirt senior outfielder Dan Tauken in the 12th inning.
The bullpen was the star of the show, as the Racers’ pitchers did not allow a single earned run, with WKU’s only run coming from a sacrifice fly. They were also able to rack up 15 strikeouts on their way to helping the Racers come out on top.
Game two against UT Martin was the opposite, with a total of 25 runs being scored. The Racers started the game in a 4-1 hole, but were quickly able to take the lead as a result of an eight run fourth inning.
The Racers were also able to score nine runs in the sixth inning, which led the game to be called due to mercy rule in the seventh, with MSU winning 18-7.
The team then went on the road for a three-game series against the Trojans of Little Rock, where they were able to take all three games.
The offense was the driving force behind the wins, as the Racers scored a total of 36 runs between all three games.
One of the players that had the biggest impact on the offense in the series was junior infielder Luke Mistone, who totalled nine hits and five runs batted in for the Racers over the course of the three games. This performance led him to be named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week.
The team’s biggest test of the season came on the road against 17th ranked Ole Miss where the Rebels were able to get the best of them in extra innings with a score of 8-7.
A few of the stars in the game for the Racers were Tauken and junior catcher Will Vierling who both finished the game with three hits, with the former knocking in two of the team’s seven runs. The two teams were tied after nine innings, but the Rebels were able to knock in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the 10th.
The Racers returned home for a three-game series against the Western Illinois Bulldogs. This was also the series where they honored the senior class.
The rally began Friday with a late inning comeback led by Tauken who took a clutch swing in the ninth inning to bring Conner Cunningham home. This marked Murray State’s fifth comeback victory after trailing in the eighth inning or later this season.
While the Racers failed to score until the third inning, Western Illinois took a 7-0 lead, only to be broken by Tauken, whose left center hit brought Mercer and Cunningham home to gain momentum. Carson Garner, who Tauken brought to third, scored to set the Racers down 7–3 going into the fourth inning.
Vierling’s fifth home run of the season brought home three others, cutting Western Illinois’ 8-3 lead to 8-6 in the bottom of the seventh. Tauken took three hits and five RBI’s during the game, hitting a game tying two-run single in the eighth inning that brought the Racers to a 9-9 tie. Tauken’s final single solidified Murray State’s 10-9 win.
Before beginning the second matchup on Saturday, the Racers celebrated 10 seniors: Reed Braundmeier, Nico Bermeo, Jacob Ehling, Kane Elmy, Carson Garner, Jonathan Hogart, Matt Parenteau, Isaac Silva, David Stokely, and Dan Tauken.
The Racers took a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning due to a Mercer triple and a home run from Garner. Western Illinois found their footing in the fourth, taking two runs before tying the game 3-3 in the fifth after an RBI single. Despite their effort, the Racers were no match for Western Illinois, as they piled on two more runs to defeat the Racers 5-3.
The Racers dropped their final game of the weekend against Western Illinois 3-1 Sunday afternoon.
Mercer improved his on base streak to eleven games, going 2-3 with a walk. Hogart earned his third home run of the weekend, tying the game 1-1 in the sixth inning. Western Illinois scored in the seventh inning and added insurance in the ninth, solidifying a 3-1 lead, solidifying Murray State’s 1-2 record for the weekend and 8-3 reason record.
Mercer made it on base in five of his six plate appearances, while Cunningham reached base four times, also taking two hits and two walks. Redshirt Junior Harper McLendon threw two innings in relief and only allowed one run with three strikeouts.
The Racers return to Johnny Reagan field twice this week as they host Lindenwood on Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m.
