EMERSON, Ga. — Junior right-hander Aaron Goe allowed no walks, just one run and five hits in the second complete game of his collegiate career, and the Morehead State baseball team went on to post a 5-1 victory over Atlantic 10 Conference opponent Dayton on Monday at the Perfect Game Fields at LakePointe Sports Complex.
At 5-2 overall, the Eagles are off to their best start since 2001 at 5-2 overall. The Flyers fall to 1-5 overall and 1-3 on a neutral turf.
“Aaron had a terrific outing today,” Head Coach Mike McGuire said. “He was very efficient with his pitches and consistently worked ahead in counts. We played 18 innings on Saturday (with the completion of a suspended game), so I’m glad he was able to go the distance. We didn’t have too many available arms in the bullpen today.”
Goe, who missed most of 2013 and all of 2014 due to injury, went all nine innings for the first time since May 17, 2012. He fanned 10 of the 33 batters he faced, recording 81 strikes in the contest and just 14 balls. Goe retired Dayton 1-2-3 in the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings. He improved 2-0 on the year and lowered his ERA to 1.15.
“Aaron has overcome a lot to put himself in this position,” McGuire said. “We are proud of the toughness he has shown both mentally and physically. Aaron has good enough stuff to be one of the betters pitchers in this league, but he’s not the only pitcher we’re excited about. We certainly feel like we have an improved staff from a year ago.”
Dayton scored the game’s first run in the third inning on senior first baseman A.J. Ryan’s single, but MSU responded by plating four runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth. Freshman designated hitter Eric Crain led the Eagles by going 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI, while senior first baseman Kane Sweeney crushed a solo home run.
“We didn’t have our best weekend offensively, but our pitching carried us,” McGuire added. “We have several proven hitters in this line-up, and I’m confident they will come around over time. It’s still early in the season. It was good to see us do some situational hitting in the fourth inning, and Kane gave us a lift the next inning.”
Sophomore right-hander Nick Gobert, the first of six Dayton pitchers, was pinned with the loss. He allowed three earned runs and three hits in four innings.
Check MSUEagles.com, Twitter.com/MSUAthletics and Facebook.com/MSUEagles for updates on this week’s baseball schedule. Morehead State is scheduled to play on Wednesday at Kentucky, but the contest will likely be postponed due to continued winter weather throughout the state of Kentucky.
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