Casey Collins notched a career high 10 strikeouts, but the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team dropped a back-and-forth game against the Murray State University Racers, 8-4, Saturday afternoon at Reagan Field.
The Colonels (22-25, 8-15 OVC) drew first blood in the fourth inning. Alex Holderbach led off the inning with a single to left field. A Matt Olive sacrifice bunt moved Holderbach to second, and a Daniel McFarland single pushed Holderbach to third. After a wild pitch let McFarland move to second, Shea Sullivan singled to right field to score both Holderbach and McFarland, giving EKU a 2-0 lead.
The Racers (24-23, 12-11 OVC) tied the game when a bases loaded single from Adam Bauer brought two base runners home.
Murray State took the lead in the sixth inning when Kipp Moore singled with the bases loaded and brought Tyler Lawrence home, giving the Racers a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh.
Sullivan led off the seventh with a single to right field, and went home following a Ryland Kerr triple. Cornell Nixon used a sacrifice bunt to plate Kerr in the next at-bat, giving EKU a 4-3 lead in the seventh.
The Racers tied the game again in the bottom of the seventh, and then used a four-run eighth inning to take the game, 8-4.
Sullivan led the way for the Colonels with three hits and two RBIs. Ben Fisher also had three hits, and McFarland finished with two hits. Collins (2-1) earned a no decision on the day. His 10 strikeouts eclipse his previous career high of six, which he had on April 4 at Northern Kentucky.
The series finale for the Colonels and the Racers is set for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday at Reagan Field.
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Don Hawkins
EKUSports Communications Intern
