EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Murray State catcher Taylor Howell launched a solo home run leading off the top of the tenth inning on Sunday to snap a 5-5 tie and power the visiting Racers to a 6-5 victory over the University of Evansville baseball team at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
Howell lifted a 2-0 fastball into the wind blowing out to left field and over the left-field fence for his eighth home run of the year and second home run of the series to help the Racers snap a 5-5 tie in extra-innings. Reliever Thomas McNabb (3-0) then worked a perfect bottom of the tenth inning to nail down the victory for Murray State.
Evansville jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by graduate third baseman Brent Widder. UE took that lead into the sixth inning, as starter Donovan Schultz held Murray State to just two base hits through the first five innings. Murray State would erupt for five runs though in the sixth inning, sending 10 men to the plate to take a 5-1 lead.
Evansville would answer back in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run home run to left field by senior shortstop Simon Scherry to trim the deficit to 5-3. UE then got a two-out, two-strike pinch-hit single by junior Evan Waggoner in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5.
Evansville would load the bases against McNabb in the eighth inning, but he got a fly out to right to end the threat. The Purple Aces would then get a lead-off double by senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse in the ninth inning, and eventually put men on the corners with two outs, but McNabb once again got out of the jam. McNabb tossed 3.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn the victory.
Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger led UE by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a hit-by-pitch to extend his on-base streak to 39-straight games. Scherry and Waggoner both drove in two runs for UE. Howell was one of three Racers to have two-hit days, while he drove in two.
With the victory, Murray State moves into a first-place tie in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 17-6 overall record and 3-0 conference mark. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 9-14 overall and 0-3 in the Valley. The Purple Aces return home on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. to host SIU-Edwardsville in non-conference action.
