Jack Hranec pitched a career-best 7.2 innings and threw a career-high 116 pitches but his valiant effort was not enough as Murray State was defeated by Belmont, 5-4 Friday night on a walk-off double to eliminate the Racers from the OVC Tournament.
Hranec allowed just three runs on four hits in the contest while also striking-out four batters. Derrik Watson took the loss in relief.
The Bruins (30-28), much like they did in the tournament opener, got an early run in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. MSU would tie things with an infield RBI single from Tyler Lawrence in the third and then take a 3-1 lead in the fifth off Lawrence’s 10th home run of the season and third of the tournament.
In the sixth, the Bruins would cut the margin to 3-2 on a sacrifice fly before a Brandon Gutzler RBI double off the wall in right field brought home Aaron Bence and pushed the Racers’ (29-30) advantage back to two runs at 4-2.
In the eighth, Belmont would make it 4-3 with another sacrifice fly before hitting its walk-off to left field with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth.
Gutzler and Lawrence both led the Racers offensively in the loss by going 2-for-4 at the plate. Lawrence finishes his illustrious career atop most offensive categories in program history and finishes his four years with a school record 266 hits and 189 RBIs. Adam Bauer drew a pair of walks and Bence scored twice on the night. For the game, both teams had six hits while the Racers left 10 men on base and the Bruins left just three.
MSU’s 29 victories on the season are the most since 2009 and ties for the seventh most in program history.
by Kevin DeVries
