Story by Gage Johnson, staff writer
Murray State traveled back home for the first of a four-game home series against Fort Wayne University and lost the series opener 7-5.
Junior pitcher Peyton Hayes took the mound in his third start of the year for the Racers. He is 0-0 on the year having received a no-decision in each of his appearances. Fort Wayne senior pitcher Brandon Phelps also started out on the hill for his third start of the young season. He is 1-0, winning one game and receiving a no-decision in the other.
Murray State got the action started in the bottom of the second inning. Graduate student outfielder Gavin Wehby got the first hit of the ballgame and stole second after reaching base. Junior outfielder Tyler Duke then singled to left field, driving in Wehby for the first run of the game and getting a 1-0 lead going into the third inning.
The game was a pitcher’s duel for multiple innings after Murray State scored in the second inning. Fort Wayne was without a hit going into the sixth inning. After the Mastodons got their first hit, they put up a big inning.
After a lead-off single and a strikeout to begin the inning for Fort Wayne, freshman pitcher Nate Pianto came in to replace Hayes for his third appearance out of the bullpen this season. Murray State was quickly forced to pull the plug on Pianto after hitting the only two batters he faced to load the bases.
Freshman pitcher Braydon Cook was not given a warm welcome from Fort Wayne in his third appearance on the season. He walked the first two batters he faced, scoring two for the Mastodons. Following an error and fielder’s choice by the Racers, Fort Wayne scored four runs off of one hit, leaving the inning with a 4-1 lead.
The Mastodons tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth when sophomore outfielder Robert Young III hit his third home run of the season, making it a 6-1 ballgame. After putting up one more toward their lead, the pitchers had plenty of run support for Fort Wayne, leading 7-1 heading into the final half inning of play.
Despite the 7-1 deficit, the Racers did not go down without a fight. Back-to-back walks got things started for Murray State in the inning. Freshman first baseman CJ Busch then earned himself a pinch-hit double, scoring one on the play. Following a pitching change for the Mastodons, a two-run single for the Racers from freshman outfielder Jake Slunder made it 7-4 ballgame.
After getting a single to get on base, sophomore outfielder Ryan Perkins forced a balk, advancing himself to second and scoring Slunder to make it a 7-5 ballgame. Sophomore pitcher Duane Miller then entered the ballgame for Fort Wayne. After surrendering a single to the first batter he faced, a flyout and a groundout ended the rally for the Racers. Miller earned his first save of the season and claimed the 7-5 victory for the Mastodons.
Demolition doubleheader
After losing the series opener, Murray State defeated Fort Wayne University in both games of a doubleheader in blowout fashion, 16-4 and 15-4.
Junior pitcher Blake Clynes took the hill for the first of two games for the Racers. This was Clynes’ second start of the year and his third appearance in total. He has been successful early on, owning a 1-0 record and only giving up three earned runs in 14.1 innings pitched. Freshman pitcher Spencer Strobel got his first starting nod of the season for Fort Wayne.
During the fourth inning of the series opener on Friday, Fort Wayne managed to score four runs on just one hit in an inning. They got a taste of their own medicine in the bottom of the first in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday.
Strobel struggled in his first start of the year, walking seven batters in the inning and allowing four runs in the inning before being replaced. Following the early pitching change to senior first baseman Brock Logan because of a shortage of pitching availability, another run was scored on a hit by pitch. Fort Wayne managed to stop the bleeding there, but not before Murray State put up five runs on no hits in the inning.
Both offenses remained stagnant until the fifth inning following the scoring outburst from the Racers. After bringing one across the plate for Fort Wayne’s first run of the ballgame, Murray State had another big inning.
The Racers put up seven runs in the inning on five hits and two errors in the bottom half of the fifth, making it a 12-1 ballgame. Two innings later, Murray State showed they weren’t done offensively. A lead-off walk from junior shortstop Jaron Robinson sparked a rally for the Racers in the inning. After four more walks and one hit for Murray State, four runs reached the plate and extended the Racers lead to 16-1.
Fort Wayne scored three runs in the top of the seventh, but it was all for not, as the Racers came away with a 16-4 win after seven innings of play.
The second game of the doubleheader on Sunday was played at 3:30 p.m. Junior pitcher Gray Dorsey made his first start of the season for the Racers, while senior pitcher Damian Helm made his third start of the year for the Mastodons. Helm was 1-1 with three earned runs given up over 10 innings in his previous two appearances.
Fort Wayne seemed to show some life in the second game, driving in the first run of the game after a wild pitch. Freshman pitcher Jake Jones came in to replace Dorsey and closed out the inning following the run from the Mastodons.
Murray State’s offense stayed hot by answering Fort Wayne’s attack in its half of the inning. After back-to-back walks to start the rally for the Racers, a sacrifice-fly and multiple hits in the inning, the Racers jumped out to a 5-1 lead.
After entering the game for Murray State, Jones stifled the Mastodons offense. Over his next three innings pitched, Jones only allowed one run to cross the plate for Fort Wayne. While Jones was busy mowing down batters, the Racers were giving him plenty of run support.
A two-RBI double from junior catcher from Mike Farnell helped Murray State secure a 7-1 lead going into the third inning. The Racers tacked on to their lead in the bottom of the third inning. Six hits, capped off by a three-run homer from graduate student outfielder Brandon Guntzler, led to six runs in the inning, giving Murray State a 13-2 lead.
Both teams managed to claim two more runs in the following innings, but the Racers lead was too much for the Mastodons to overcome. This gave Murray State its second win of the day in seven innings with a score of 15-4.
Racers keep rolling
Murray State baseball took on Fort Wayne for the final time on Sunday and won 13-2.
Sophomore pitcher Trevor McMurray took the hill for the final game of the series for the Racers. He looked to earn his second win of the season, going 1-1 in his previous two starts. Junior pitcher Shane Odzark started out on the bump for the Mastodons. Odzark hasn’t excelled early on, going 0-2 in his previous two starts.
After the Racers lost the first game of a four-game homestand, they have bounced back in large part due to their offense. In its doubleheader on Saturday, Murray State scored a combined 29 runs. The offensive outpouring from the Racers continued into Sunday afternoon.
Murray State got things going first in the bottom of the second inning. A walk to freshman second baseman Grant Wood and a single from junior catcher Mike Farnell put a runner in scoring position early on for the Racers. Senior designated hitter Caleb Hicks took advantage of the opportunity, driving in Wood on a sacrifice-fly to take a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Fort Wayne answered with a sacrifice-fly of its own, tying the game 1-1. However, the Racers returned the favor in the bottom of the third. Four walks and a hit-by-pitch led to two runs despite not having a hit in the inning, giving Murray State a 3-1 lead.
Murray State wasn’t done there. They added three more runs to their lead in the bottom of the sixth on four hits in the inning. After Fort Wayne squeaked a run across in the following inning, the Racers continued the onslaught.
After a leadoff single from sophomore outfielder Ryan Perkins, Gutzler homered for the second time this season. Sims then made back-to-back home runs for Murray State with a solo shot for his second bomb of the season, making it a 12-2 ballgame. After tacking on one more run in the bottom of the eighth, sophomore pitcher Alec Whaley closed out the ninth for the Racers to claim the 13-2 victory.
The win gives Murray State its third-straight victory of 10 or more runs, heading into a week with four more home games. They will take on Southern Illinois University first at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7, at Reagan Field.