Sophomore Niko Hulsizer and senior Michael Patrick each homered twice and drove in six runs apiece to help the Morehead State baseball team complete a series sweep over Eastern Kentucky Saturday. The Eagles nipped the Colonels 9-6 in the opener and smashed 23 hits en route to an 18-7 nightcap victory at Allen Field.
Morehead State improved its best-ever Ohio Valley Conference start to 8-1 while winning for the 12th time in the last 13 tries overall to improve to 17-6. EKU fell to 1-5 in the league and 13-12 overall.
Despite allowing six homers, the Eagle pitching staff only surrendered three walks and struck out 13 EKU hitters as freshman Jake Ziegelmeyer (1-1) grabbed his first collegiate win in the opener, and senior Curtis Wilson (3-2) collected the "W" in the second contest.
"Our pitching staff has come a long way in the last three weeks, and I'm really pleased with how our pitchers are throwing the ball," said head coach Mike McGuire. "Offensively, we got production one through nine, and that's the key. The offensive production is starting to be where we thought this team could be."
Patrick homered in both contests and finished the day 5-for-9, while Hulsizer launched a three-run and two-run round-tripper in the second game, collecting all six RBI in that game. Patrick was 4-for-5 in the second game, joined in that category by senior centerfielder Ryan Kent with four hits. Kent was 6-for-9 on the day and moved into sixth place all-time at MSU now with 224 career hits.
Eight of the nine Eagles in the original lineup in game two had multi-hit performances as Morehead State totaled 33 hits in both games, including seven doubles in the second battle. Junior first baseman Tyler Niemann also had a home run, two doubles, and a 1.286 slugging percentage on the day. Sophomore catcher Hunter Fain also went deep on a two-run homer in the opening game.
EKU first baseman Ben Fisher, the national leader in home runs, launched three long balls Saturday and finished with eight total RBI.
Morehead State hosts Alabama A&M for a mid-week two-game set. The first contest is set for Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
