EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Down to its final strike in the top of the ninth inning, the visiting Murray State baseball team rallied for three runs on Saturday afternoon to steal a 7-6 victory over the University of Evansville Purple Aces at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
After Evansville rallied for two two-out runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 4-4 tie on back-to-back two-strike base hits by graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger and senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse, the Racers used some two-out, two-strike magic of its own to take the victory.
After Taylor Howell opened the ninth inning with a double down the left-field line and a strikeout, pinch-hitter John Orberson laced a two-strike pitch down the left-field line for a double to cut UE’s lead to 6-5. After a ground out, Murray State shortstop Drew Vogel flared a two-strike pitch just beyond the reach of UE shortstop Simon Scherry on a full-extension dive into left-center field for a base hit. Shallenberger tried to throw out pinch-runner Gunnar Bingham at the plate, but he was unable to as the Racers tied the game at 6-6.
Outfielder Dustin Mercer then bounced a ball through the left side, where Shallenberger once again tried to gun down a runner at the plate. Initially, the runner was called out, but upon video review, it was discovered that the runner beat the UE tag at the plate to give Murray State a 7-6 lead.
Evansville threatened to rally in the ninth, putting two men on base on an error and a walk, but pinch-hitter Evan Waggoner lined out to the warning track in right field to end the game, as Murray State right-fielder Jonathan Hogart made a running catch on the track to end the contest. The victory clinched a series win for Murray State.
Graduate third baseman Brent Widder led the Evansville offense by going 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Scherry went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Evansville actually jumped to an early 4-0 lead with two runs in the first and single tallies in the second and fifth innings. Murray State rallied for four runs in the seventh inning, though, to tie the contest and force the late drama.
With the victory, Murray State improves to 16-6 overall and 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 9-13 overall and 0-2 in the Valley. The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Graduate left-hander Donovan Schultz (0-1, 9.55 ERA) will get the start for the Purple Aces.
