Sophomore leftfielder Niko Hulsizer drilled his Ohio Valley Conference and Morehead State record 27th home run of the year Saturday as the Eagle baseball team saw its season conclude with an 11-6 setback to Belmont in the OVC Tournament.
The Eagles finished at 36-23. Hulsizer cranked his record-breaking homer in the third inning as he passed former MSU slugger Cary Page and former Tennessee Tech stud A.J. Kirby-Jones, who both had 26. He also added an RBI single in the eighth frame to give him 193 total bases this season. That broke the previous OVC single-season record of 192 set by Murray State's Wes Cunningham in 2010.
Among numerous other records broken or nearly broken this season, the Eagles did set a program record for runs scored in a season at 525.
The contest marked the end of their collegiate careers for seniors Seth Boyle, Jimmy Wright, Luke Humphreys, Michael Patrick, Will Schneider, Ryan Kent, Curtis Wilson and Cable Wright. The four-year seniors combined to win 135 games since 2014.
Kent set MSU career records for plate appearances, games played, at-bats and singles. Humphreys ended with the school career record for games started, while Cable Wright made his final pitching appearance today (114), the MSU and OVC career record for times pitched. Schneider concluded his two-year career with 177 hits.
Junior third baseman Eli Boggess recorded a single in the seventh inning to give him the program's single-season standard for one-baggers with 67. His batting average of .425 is likely to hold up for him to win the 2017 NCAA Division I batting title.
The contest turned in Belmont's favor in the second inning when the Bruins crossed the plate five times to go up 5-0. Kyle Conger connected on a three-run homer.
The Bruins proceeded to go up 8-3 after five innings, but the Eagles still fought until the end as they scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth. Sophomore shortstop Red Leonard and Hulsizer had eighth-inning singles.
"We had a rough second inning, and it was too much of an uphill climb unfortunately," said head coach Mike McGuire. "But I like that we didn't quit. That is the expectation we have in this program, we never quit. This was a great group to coach this season, and to look at where we were, really five seasons ago, until now is incredible."
Morehead State wrapped up its season with the third consecutive 30-win campaign.
