Simon Elfrink
Sports Editor
selfrink@murraystate.edu
Murray State baseball’s recent momentum hit a wall in a 3-1 loss against Arkansas State University in the latter half of a home-and-home series in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Tuesday, March 23.
The Racers came away with a 9-6 victory in the last game they played against the Red Wolves, but Head Coach Dan Skirka said his team simply didn’t bring the intensity needed to get the job done.
“We weren’t very tough today,” Skirka said. “We weren’t very tough, we didn’t play with any confidence.”
Aside from a leadoff single from senior center fielder Jake Slunder, the Racers went down quietly in the first and second inning, but the Red Wolves took an opportunity to do some damage in the bottom of the second.
Senior outfielder Tyler Duncan made the most of his first plate appearance, leading off the second inning with a home run to right-center field. A pair of singles and an error later, freshman infielder Jake Gish crossed home plate to make the score 2-0.
The Racers’ starting pitcher, graduate right-hander Sam Gardner, came out after the first two innings, having earned both runs on three hits.
Redshirt-junior righty Carter Poiry started the top of the third inning, finding himself in some hot water after walking the leadoff batter. After a pair of outs, Poiry’s woes continued when he walked the bases loaded. Freshman righty Cade Vernon received the call from the bullpen, but he too gave up a walk, letting another Red Wolf trot across the plate.
The Racers finally found some life in the top of the sixth inning when Slunder led off with a walk and senior outfielder Ryan Perkins shot a single through the right side to put runners on the corners for senior second baseman Jordan Cozart with no outs. Cozart delivered, singling into right field to bring Slunder home for his 22nd RBI of the season.
While Perkins advanced to third on the play, the next three Racers hit into outs to end the inning.
The scoreboard never flickered from there, and by the end of the game the Racers still faced the two-run deficit. While the Racers’ offense could have undoubtedly overcome the narrow margin of victory, Skirka laid most of the blame on himself for the loss.
“It falls on me, I gotta do a better job of preparing them,” Skirka said. “They weren’t very tough and weren’t very confident.”
Looking ahead, Skirka said he hopes to turn things around before the Racers’ next series.
“We gotta have a couple good days of practice,” Skirka said. “Get back to doing what we do well and that is competing and playing loose and playing with confidence.”
The Racers hope to tip the scale back over .500 against the University of Memphis for a three-game series in Memphis, Tennessee from Friday, March 26, to Sunday, March 28.