For the second consecutive game, Morehead State's pitching staff recorded double digit strikeouts as the Baseball Eagles fended off Alabama State 7-4 Wednesday for the team's sixth consecutive victory.
"It was a good homestand, very pleased with it," said head coach Mike McGuire.
The Eagles improved to 16-5 overall and concluded their longest homestand of the season 6-1. Starting pitcher TJ Satterly sat down seven Hornet hitters in the first 3.2 innings via strikeouts, while junior righthander Blake Preston whiffed four in three frames while only surrendering one hit. Sophomore Alex Garbrick rounded out the team's 12 strikeouts with one of his own.
"TJ did a nice job. He is not really built right now to go much more than that, but he was solid," said McGuire. "Blake, Alex and Ziggy (junior closer Jake Ziegelmeyer) all pitched well too, they were efficient."
The host Eagles built an early 2-0 lead with a pair in the second but then found themselves behind 3-2 after two doubles and an inning-extending error allowed the Hornets to push ahead in the fourth.
MSU responded immediately.
The Eagles plated three in fourth and two more in the fifth to extend their cushion to 7-3. RBI singles by junior second baseman Ryan Layne and senior shortstop Reid Leonard highlighted the fourth, while Layne smashed a run-scoring double in the fifth.
Although he allowed two runs in just 0.1 innings, freshman righty Zack Smith (1-0) was credited with the win. The Eagles tagged ASU starter Alexander Castro for five tallies as he fell to 0-3.
Layne was 3-for-4, while senior catcher Hunter Fain moved his batting average to .500 in the first 21 games with another 2-for-2 day. The nation's leading on-base percentage player, Fain, also drew two walks and scored three times in moving his reached-base streak to 23 games dating to last season. Leonard's reached-base streak now sits at 19 games.
Morehead State has its OVC bye weekend coming up. The Eagles will take on Southern Illinois on the road for a three-game set beginning Friday at 2 p.m. ET.
