WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Northern Kentucky 13,
@Eastern Kentucky 11 (11 innings)
Morehead State 9, @Alabama A&M 8
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 13, EASTERN KENTUCKY 11 (11)
RICHMOND, Ky. - Despite two late comebacks and a pair of heroic home runs by sophomore Kyle Nowlin and freshman Taylor Blair, the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team fell to Northern Kentucky, 13-11, in an 11-inning, four-hour slugfest on Wednesday at Turkey Hughes Field.
In what became the first-ever night game under the brand new lights of the "The Turk," NKU (4-14) scored in each of the first six innings to take a comfortable 9-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. However, EKU (8-13) exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie it and force extra innings.
Freshman Ben Fisher got the ninth-inning rally going with a leadoff walk and then went to second on a pinch-hit base hit by freshman Kyle Kramer. With one out in the frame, sophomore Kenny Hostrander laced a single through the left side that scored Fisher and left Kramer standing at second. Blair followed that up with a single that loaded the bases. The next batter, freshman Tyler Adams, struck out for the second out of the inning, but freshman Justin Cessna kept the Colonels alive with an infield hit that scored Kramer. Freshman Logan Starnes then worked an RBI walk that plated Hostrander and kept the bases loaded for the red-hot Nowlin, who – down to his last strike – crushed a grand slam over the wall in right-center to tie the game at 9-9.
In the top of the 10th, the Norse responded as Cole Bauml drove a two-out, two-run homer over the wall in right field to make it 11-9 in favor of NKU.
The Colonels, however, were not done. Kramer led off the bottom of the 10th with a base hit. After Hostrander and freshman Taylor Lautenen fanned in consecutive at-bats, Blair – again, down to EKU's final out and his final strike – connected on game-tying, two-run home run to right-center.
The Norse kept coming, though, as Caleb Lonkard and Logan Spurlin both notched RBI doubles in the top of the 11th to give NKU a 13-11 advantage.
Nowlin got aboard with a two-out base hit in the home half of the 11th, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Fisher; however, Fisher lined out to end the marathon game.
Nowlin finished the game 4-for-7 with four RBI and a run scored, while Blair went 2-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Bauml paced NKU offensively, going 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Sophomore right-hander Trey Salisbury (0-1) picked up the loss for EKU as he walked the eventual go-ahead run in the top of the 11th.
Right-hander Jake Shaw (2-3) earned the win for NKU despite giving up both game-tying home runs in the ninth and 10th innings.
MOREHEAD STATE 9, ALABAMA A&M 8
NORMAL, Ala. - Senior Bobby Burns' pinch-hit triple in the ninth inning drove home the winning run as the Morehead State baseball team knocked off Alabama A&M 9-8 at Bulldog Field Wednesday.
The Eagles (9-11) salvaged a series split against AAMU (8-15).
Morehead State led 6-0 after three frames and 8-4 later, but the hosts scored four times in the sixth to tie it at 8-8.
In the ninth, senior Jeff Birkofer drew a one-out, pinch-hit walk off AAMU pitcher Many Lora. Burns then cranked this third career triple to plate his classmate. Lora (2-3) allowed two hits and the one run in three innings.
Senior relief pitcher Dan Hyatt (1-0) tossed 2.2 innings and allowed only two hits and no runs for his first win of the year. Sophomore righty Craig Pearcy surrendered two walks in the ninth but coaxed a fly out and a strike out to record his third save of the season.
Junior rightfielder Brandon Rawe was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Rawe now has an Ohio Valley Conference-best 12 doubles. Junior catcher Chris Robinson smacked a pair of hits and tallied three RBI, and junior leftfielder Nick Newell recorded two hits.
Junior first baseman Kane Sweeney also kept his hitting streak intact at eight contests, and junior shortstop Robby Spencer had a hit to extend his reached-base streak to 11 games.
MSU plated four runs in the third inning. Sweeney and Rawe nailed RBI doubles, Robinson rapped a run-scoring single, and freshman second baseman John Reina singled home a run, one of two RBI for him.