GAME ONE STATS (PDF) | (HTML) GAME TWO STATS (PDF) | (HTML)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State baseball team swept Jackson State Friday at Allen Field, 12-4 in the home opener and 7-6 in the nightcap.
The Eagles (3-3) earned the game one victory behind strong outings by freshman starter
Aaron Goe and redshirt sophomore second baseman
Nick Duff.
Goe tossed four innings of scoreless ball before allowing two earned runs in the fifth. He struck out six in six innings during his second outing as an Eagle and earned the win.
Duff led an Eagle scoring effort that began in the second frame, when MSU put a four-spot on Tiger starter Quintavious Drains. The inning featured three doubles and a hit by Duff, the first of his four hits in game one.
Drains took the loss in the opener. He pitched 3.2 innings and allowed nine runs on 11 hits, despite recording six strikeouts. The loss was his first of the season.
MSU added to its early lead posting five runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Duff lead Eagle batters going 4-for-5 with four singles and two RBI.
Left fielder Kendall Logan went 3-for-4 for Jackson State (2-3) with a home run and two RBI. The Tigers scored all of their runs in game one behind two long balls, one off the bat of Logan in the fifth and the other by centerfielder Gabrielle Babineaux in the seventh.
In the nightcap, both teams jostled for the lead in the first five innings with MSU holding a 5-4 advantage going into the sixth frame of a scheduled seven-inning contest.
Junior closer
Matt Duncan replaced the Eagles starter, southpaw Noah Smallwood, in the sixth. He surrendered two runs on a Babineaux double.
Trailing 6-5 going into the bottom of the sixth, MSU drove in the game-tying run after an error on a failed pickoff attempt advanced
Eric Bainer to second. Senior third baseman
Andrew Deeds then scored Bainer on a single to center.
Junior side-armer
Morgan Cirbo silenced Jackson State’s bats over the final two innings. Cirbo hit the first batter with a pitch, threw a wild pitch and issued a walk before sending the Tiger base runners back to the dugout. He earned the game-two win, tossing two innings, allowing two walks and striking out one.
Outfielder
Taylor Pickens drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. He hit an RBI single to left that drove in shortstop
Chase Greenwell from third. Pickens finished the nightcap 2-for-6 with two RBI.
Sophomore Aneko Knowles took the loss in game two. He pitched 1.2 innings and was responsible for the go-ahead run.
“Two good wins for our club today,” said coach Jay Sorg. “It's never easy to win both games of doubleheader. This was our third one-run game in an early season. It can only help us having that experience come conference time.”
The teams return to Allen Field on Saturday for game three of the four-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
