JACKSON, Tenn. — The Morehead State baseball team took advantage of a single and three walks in the bottom of the 10th on Thursday evening to register a 4-3 victory over Tennessee Tech in the second round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at The Ballpark at Jackson.
The second-seeded Eagles improve to 36-20 overall and 4-2 at neutral sites. The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles slip to 26-28 overall and 3-2 at neutral sites. Morehead State has now won 25 of its last 32 contests overall and three of four match-ups versus Tennessee Tech this season.
MSU, which earned a first-round bye, moves on to the winner’s bracket final. It will meet top-seeded Southeast Missouri or sixth-seeded Belmont on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. TTU drops to an elimination game on Friday at Noon or 4 p.m. For the latest on day three match-ups, visit OVCSports.com.
“I don’t think we could have pitched much better,” Head Coach Mike McGuire said. “I am proud of Luke (Humphreys), Cable (Wright) and Aaron (Goe) for the way they battled. We had a few first-time jitters at the beginning of this game, but eventually settled down and did what we needed to do.”
Morehead State jumped out to a 2-0 advantage after two innings. Tennessee Tech responded with a three-spot in the fourth frame. The Eagles pushed across a game-tying score in the seventh and walked off with the win when senior shortstop Robby Spencer drew a bases-loaded walk.
Spencer, senior designated hitter Clayton Meyer, senior right fielder Brandon Rawe and sophomore third baseman Alex Stephens tallied two hits apiece for MSU. Spencer scored twice, while Meyer knocked in a pair. Stephens and Meyer had back-to-back run-scoring base knocks in the second.
“We are a pretty tough hitting team, one through nine,” McGuire said. “I credit our depth today. Some of our bigger bats at the top of the line-up didn’t perform to their capabilities, but guys like Alex and Clayton really stepped up. As a team, we are at our best when everyone is contributing.”
Junior right-hander Aaron Goe, who fired scoreless frames in the ninth and 10th, improved to 6-0 with the win. MSU sophomore right-hander Luke Humphreys allowed just three runs in 6.1 innings, while sophomore left-hander Cable Wright registered 1.2 scoreless frames. Both took no-decisions.
Tennessee Tech’s pitching staff allowed just one walk over its first nine innings, but issued three free passes in a five-batter stretch during the final frame. Freshman right-hander Travis Moths yielded just one run and two hits while striking out six in three innings, but slipped to 5-4 with the loss.
Five Golden Eagles collected one hit apiece. Senior shortstop Dylan Bosheers launched his ninth homer of the season in the fourth, while senior catcher Jordan Hopkins crushed his fourth dinger of the campaign two batters later. TTU was limited to just one base knock over its last six at-bats.
Senior first baseman Kane Sweeney went hitless, but extended his on-base streak to 33 games with an eighth-inning walk. That clip is the best of any Morehead State player in 56 tilts this season.
“I thought today was a terrific game,” McGuire added. “Lots of big-time plays on both sides and several momentum swings. It’s huge to stay in the winner’s bracket and save some of our pitching. Every team’s goal is to get through this tournament by playing the fewest games possible.”
Morehead State’s 36 overall wins and 20 conference victories are both school records. The Eagles continue to build on their best overall winning percentage (.643) since going 28-11 (.718) in 1976. MSU has also landed its best tournament seed since being second overall in 1994.
Friday’s affair will be streamed live and free of charge on OVCDigitalNetwork.com. Michael Gustin and Matt Segal will also have the audio play-by-play on MSUEagles.com. For more, visit MSUEagles.com, OVCSports.com, Twitter.com/MSUEagles and Facebook.com/MSUEagles.
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