Murray State’s baseball team clinched a 7-4 win against Illinois State on Friday night at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois. Drew Vogel powered the Racers with an outstanding two-home-run performance, ensuring a strong start to the series against ISU.
In addition to Vogel’s remarkable day, Cade Sammons contributed a double and a triple along with two runs scored. Riley Hawthorne hit an RBI triple and a single, while Dustin Mercer led MSU with three hits, including a double. The Racers accumulated 12 hits and six extra-base hits in the game.
Jacob Pennington secured his fifth win of the season with another impressive performance as the Racers’ Friday night man. Pennington pitched for 5.0 innings, allowing only two earned runs and striking out three Red Birds. Nathan Holler and Ben Krizen both proved to be effective relievers, each delivering 2.0 scoreless innings.
Krizen earned his fourth save of the season in the appearance.
Murray State and Illinois State will face off once more in the second game of the series on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Racers will be looking to build on their momentum from Friday’s victory and secure another win against the Red Birds.
