Story by Gage Johnson, Senior Writer
Early in the season, Murray State baseball almost upset the then ninth-ranked team in the nation, the University of Mississippi. On Friday, Murray State got the chance to play spoiler to the No. 25 team in the country in Tennessee Tech.
The Racers were unable to muster any kind of opposition to Tennessee Tech’s offense, falling 9-2, 15-5 and 23-7 in a three-game sweep.
Game one:
Friday’s game was primarily a pitcher’s duel throughout the first four innings. Murray State had only registered one run on one hit, while the Golden Eagles had scored two runs on two hits. It wasn’t until the fifth that Tennessee Tech, who had hit 72 home runs as a team on the season, added two more to its total to score three runs in the inning to give it a 5-1 lead.
Meanwhile, senior pitcher Travis Moths was rocking and rolling for the Golden Eagles. Moths came into the game leading the OVC in wins, and he showed exactly why in Friday’s game. Moths gave up two hits, two runs, with one being earned, while striking out five through six innings pitched.
“They completely dominated us,” said Head Coach Kevin Moulder. “They did a good job, and you have to give them a lot of credit. There’s a reason they’re nationally ranked, and they showed that today.”
Tennessee Tech managed to bring four more runs across the plate, but it would all be for naught. After Moths exited the game for the Golden Eagles, the bullpen picked up where he left off. Their pitching staff allowed just two hits and one run throughout the rest of the ballgame. This, along with their high-powered offense, helped them earn the 9-2 win.
Game two:
The second of two on Friday got off to a similar start. Tennessee Tech struck first with a bomb from senior infielder Trevor Putzig. The Racers then managed to tie the game at one when sophomore outfielder Ryan Perkins hit a solo home run of his own.
However, in the fourth inning the Golden Eagles blew it open. Two home runs, including Putzig’s second of the day, were huge factors in an offensive attack that brought in six runs in the inning. They would later go on to have another big inning in the sixth, driving in four runs.
They continued to pour on the offense in the latter half of the ballgame. Tennessee Tech would score three more in the ballgame.
It wasn’t all offense, however. The Golden Eagles pitching staff delivered a stellar performance. Junior pitcher Marcus Evey gave a solid starting performance, giving up three hits and two earned runs over seven innings pitched. Two relievers sustained Tennessee Tech’s pitching success. They held their lead, giving up only three hits and three earned runs out of the bullpen.
Murray State showed some signs of life in the eighth inning of the game despite its large deficit. The Racers managed to get runners on second and third with no outs for graduate student outfielder Brandon Guntzler.
A single from Guntzler drove in one run in the inning. A sacrifice fly from sophomore third baseman Davis Sims then tacked another run on the board. However, that was all Murray State could muster.
They would go on to remain scoreless in the rest of the inning, and in the ninth as well, giving Tennessee Tech the 15-5 win.
Despite the rough day, Moulder still believes they can bounce back and go toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in the country.
“It’s going to take a couple of guys stepping up,” Moulder said. “Our guys are more than capable of competing with these guys, and we’ll be ready for the challenge Sunday.”
The two losses drop Murray State’s overall record to 17-17, while owning a 5-9 conference record going into the series finale.
Game three:
Coming into the series, Tennessee Tech was leading the nation in batting average and homeruns. The Golden Eagles 72 home runs had easily outpaced the second-place total from the University of Kentucky who had 56.
Throughout the first two games against Murray State, Tennessee Tech had scored 24 runs. In the series finale, the Golden Eagles showed the Racers why they were one of the best offensive teams in the country by executing an offensive onslaught.
Tennessee Tech jumped the gun early, hitting back-to-back homeruns to pound out a 4-0 lead. They picked up where they left off in the second inning, and it seemed as though they were poised for a big inning with the bases loaded and one out. However, freshman pitcher Braydon Cook was able to limit the damage to just one run after replacing starting sophomore pitcher Luke Brown.
With the Racers struggling to find any offensive spark, Tennessee Tech took advantage and took out a big lead in the fourth. Cook walked in a run, and an error brought in the second run of the inning. Junior outfielder Nick Osborne capped off the inning with a grand slam to put the Golden Eagles out in front at 12-0.
Osborne would come up big again for Tennessee Tech on multiple occasions. He drove in one of the three runs for the Eagles in the fifth inning, and then hit a three-run shot for his second home run of the day in the seventh. Osborne would end the day 3-for-7 with eight RBIs.
While the Golden Eagles potent offense was a huge factor in the win, their pitching was also firing on all cylinders. Through eight innings, three pitchers for Tennessee Tech had only surrendered three hits to the Racers, while holding their opponents scoreless.
After the Golden Eagles scored three in the top of the ninth to inflate their lead to 23-0, Murray State would show some signs of life on offense. The Racers would go on to score seven runs on two pitchers in the inning, four coming on a grand slam from graduate student Gavin Wehby.
However, the rally would end there, and Tennessee Tech walked away with the series sweep with a 23-7 victory.
“This was just a good old fashioned butt whooping,” Moulder said. “They were just flat out better than us, and that’s all there is to it.”
Murray State will now to look to change their fortunes against Southern Illinois University, a team that had a similar offensive performance to the Golden Eagles. The Salukis defeated the Racers 23-5 the last time the two faced off. Murray State will get its chance for revenge at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18, in Carbondale, Illinois.