Morehead State baseball continued its upward trend in 2021 and opened the Ohio Valley Conference portion of the schedule with a 5-2 win over eastern Kentucky at Allen Field Friday afternoon.
The Eagles have now won six of their last seven games, four straight, and evened their record at 6-6. The Colonels slipped to 4-8. Morehead State has now won nine straight home games in the series since 2015.
Friday's low-scoring game started out looking like another slugfest as the home team scored three runs in the bottom of the first, but then the two pitching staffs settled in for a 2-2 stalemate the rest of the way. The Colonels never led but did creep to within 3-2 in the fifth frame before the Eagles tacked on insurance in the seventh.
MSU starter Jason Goe (1-3) collected his first win of the season, fanning seven batters and allowing both eKU runs on just six hits. Senior lefty Cory Conway worked his way out of the eighth with an inning-ending 5-3 double play, and fellow left-hander John Bakke coaxed another 5-3 double play to end the game in the ninth after the Colonels got the first two on base via walks. Bakke's save was the first of his career.
The victory marked head coach Mik Aoki's first career OVC win. The Eagles had dropped the first three in 2020 before the season was canceled.
