Story by Keith Jaco
Staff writer
rjaco@murraystate.edu
Lack of pitching and inconsistent offense costed the Racers a chance to get back to .500 as Murray State baseball fell to the Evansville Aces 16-12 on Tuesday.
Head Coach Dan Skirka was disappointed with his team’s inconsistency on Tuesday night.
“[This game] was a perfect example of needing everybody every night,” Skirka said. “If a couple of guys don’t do their jobs it shows; We need everybody, every day.”
The Aces used back-to-back doubles in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Racers responded with four runs in the bottom of the first as redshirt freshman Wes Schad got the Racers on the board after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Junior first baseman Ryan Perkins kept the Racer rally alive with a two RBI double down the right field line, scoring junior right fielder Brock Anderson and redshirt sophomore left fielder Jake Slunder.
A wild pitch by Evansville freshman right-handed pitcher A. J. Fritz brought home Schad, giving the Racers a 4-1 lead after one inning of play.
A two-run home run to left from Evansville redshirt junior center fielder Troy Beilsmith brought the Aces within one, 4-3, in the top of the second.
Following a scoreless third inning, the Aces tacked on two additional runs to retake the lead 5-4.
The Racers went on to respond with a three-run bottom of the third thanks to a pair of home runs from senior center fielder Tyler Duke and Anderson.
Evansville kept its foot on the gas in the top half of the fifth, scoring eight runs on seven hits including three doubles and a three-run home run from senior designated hitter Nate Reeder, giving the Aces a 13-7 lead.
The Racers began to play catch up as Schad recorded his second RBI of the game in the bottom of the sixth on a single to left field, scoring Duke and cutting Murray State’s deficit to five, 13-8.
The Aces added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh, extending their lead to 16-8 heading into the bottom half of the inning.
The Racers fought back in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs on Duke and Anderson’s second home runs of the game as well as an RBI single from sophomore shortstop Dylan Letellier, cutting the lead to 16-12.
Murray State’s comeback fell short as the Racers went quietly with a one, two, three bottom of the ninth, falling to the Aces 16-12.
Looking ahead, Skirka says his team will brush off this loss and prepare the same as always for their OVC matchup at the end of the week.
“We’ll get better within but I’m looking for much of the same this weekend,” Skirka said. “We’ll compete and get back to doing what we do on the mound.”
Murray State will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, at the end of the week to begin a three-game series against the Belmont Bruins starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at E.S. Rose Park.