By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – For the second straight game, the Murray State Racers (20-21, 9-9) rallied past the Tennessee Tech baseball team (21-17, 10-11) in the final inning, this time plating three in the bottom of the ninth to steal an 8-7 victory Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles jumped to an early 5-0 lead through the first three innings of the ball game, getting a big lift in first from true freshman Kevin Strohschein. After a one-out single by senior Jake Farr and two-out hit-by-pitch to junior Chris Brown, the outfielder stepped up to the dish and unleashed a power stroke on the first pitch he saw, clearing the wall in left field for his team-leading ninth home run of the year.
Sophomore Ryan Flick joined in on the long ball fun in the top of the second, smacking a leadoff, solo shot to right field, his eighth of the year. One inning later, Tech made a 5-0 advantage, gathering an RBI double off the bat of Brown.
Just like it had done all weekend, the home squad rallied behind its offense, using a two-run deep ball from Tyler Lawrence in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to three. Then, in the next frame, Murray State got another huge contribution via the home run, this time a three-run blast courtesy of Tyler Dixon.
The two offenses went silent over the next three frames, trading zeroes on the scoreboard until the eighth inning. That's when the Golden Eagles struck for what seemed to be a devastating two-run blow.
After a bunt single from sophomore David Garza, redshirt freshman Alex Junior gave the Golden Eagles a huge lift with an RBI double to left center field. Sophomore infielder Trevor Putzig followed up with his own RBI, driving in Junior on a single through the left side for a 7-5 Tech lead.
The Racers had other ideas, however, and followed up an inning that saw Golden Eagle reliever Trevor Maloney strike out the side, by plating three on two hits and two walks. The victory marked the home team's second walk-off victory in-a-row after winning Saturday's contest in the 11th frame on a suicide squeeze play.
The Golden Eagles will head back to the comfort of Bush Stadium for a single, midweek contest against in-state rival Middle Tennessee Wednesday evening before hitting the road once again for a three-game, non-conference series at Little Rock next weekend.
Photo by Jim Dillon
