Game 1 Box Score (HTML | PDF)
Game 2 Box Score (HTML | PDF)
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Morehead State crushed seven home runs en route to a doubleheader sweep of Ohio Valley Conference opponent Eastern Illinois Saturday at Coaches Stadium. The Eagles won the series opener 6-3, capped by junior closer
Matt Duncan's 10th save, and dropped the Panthers 13-2 in the nightcap.
MSU (24-15, 9-5 OVC) captured an early lead in game one, scoring a run in the first on outfielder
Nick Duff’s fourth long ball of the season, a 370-foot drive to right field off EIU starter Mike Hoekstra. Duff and outfielder
Luke Bainer both recorded three-hit contests and a home run.
Duncan's save tied him with Michael Thompson for the Eagle single season record. Thompson saved 10 games in 1995.
The Panthers (14-22, 5-8 OVC) took a brief 3-1 lead in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run double by right fielder Caleb Howell. Howell went 2-for-3 with a double in the opener.
A pair of errors in the fifth erased the EIU lead and reversed the Eagles' fortunes. MSU plated three runs on three hits and took a 4-3 lead, an advantage they never relinquished.
Hoekstra pitched eight innings and fanned eight in the loss. He allowed 10 hits and five runs, three of which were earned.
Freshman
Aaron Goe earned his fourth win of the season. The Eagle righty tossed seven innings, allowed seven hits and three runs.
Duncan, who was selected to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List Thursday, pitched a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out a pair of Panthers and earned his OVC-leading 10th stop.
Sophomore pitcher
Noah Smallwood got the start for the Eagles in the nightcap. He tossed a complete game and allowed just a pair of runs on eight hits.
Eagle third baseman
Andrew Deeds went hitless in game one, but rebounded in nightcap with a pair of home runs, the first of which put MSU on the board in the second inning. Deeds was one of six Eagles with a multi-hit outing in the second game.
MSU recorded 17 hits and never trailed in game two. As a team, the Eagles launched five long balls, a total that matched the number of home runs allowed by opponents at Coaches Stadium all season long.
Panther starter Christian Slazinik suffered the loss, his fifth of the season. He allowed ten hits and six earned runs in 5.2 innings.
EIU designated hitter Ben Thoma drove in the Panthers second run on a solo bomb to left field in the seventh inning. He tallied two hits and drove in one run in the contest.
The Eagles look for the sweep tomorrow at Coaches Stadium beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
