If baseball lasted just four-and-a-half innings, then the Morehead State baseball team would be looking pretty good and tied with No. 6 Louisville 2-2, but unfortunately the game goes nine frames and the Cardinals scored 18 times in the fifth through eighth innings for a 20-2 win over the Eagles at Jim Patterson Stadium Wednesday.
The Eagles fell to 5-4 and will now look forward to their home-opening weekend against Bowling Green.
"I knew when we got off the bus that if we threw the ball well and played defense, we'd have a good chance," said head coach Mike McGuire. "We certainly did that for the first four innings. I was disappointed in the way we pitched the last five because during the time they scored 18 runs we gave up 10 free bases. We talked about this last Sunday too against Iowa. This is just not going to be a recipe for success."
Senior rightfielder Will Schneider and sophomore designated hitter Trevor Snyder each extended hitting streaks to six games, while Schneider and sophomore catcher Hunter Fain increased their reached-base streaks to 14 and 17 games, respectively. Sophomore shortstop Reid Leonard and sophomore leftfielder Niko Hulsizer upped their reached-base streaks to nine, while junior second baseman Braxton led Morehead State with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate to move his reached-base streak to seven outings in a row.
The Eagles utilized 16 position players and six pitchers. Starter Dalton Stambaugh (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Louisville slammed four home runs, two doubles and a triple. Morehead State scored once in the third on Hulsizer's single. Senor centerfielder Ryan Kent grounded out in the fifth to account for the the other tally.
The Eagles are scheduled to open a three-game set with BGSU on Friday at 3 p.m.
"We have been pretty good at home lately, and we like playing at home when we can bat last," McGuire said. "Bowling Green is 0-6, but they have played a challenging schedule. They opened up with three at Texas A&M."