Morehead State junior first baseman Jesus Carrera tied the school single-game record with six hits in game one, and senior right-handed pitcher Matt Anderson struck out a career-high 12 Siena batters in game two as the Eagle baseball team swept a doubleheader, 24-7 and 11-4, Sunday to open its home schedule at Allen Field.
MSU moved to 8-3, while Siena slipped to 0-10.
The Eagles had 43 hits on the day. Every starter in the Eagle batting order had at least one hit in both ends of the doubleheader, and junior third baseman Alex Stephens, junior right-fielder Will Schneider and junior center-fielder Ryan Kent finished with five hits each on the day. Carrera nailed his first home run and had a double while recording four RBI and scoring five times in the opener.
"I thought we swung the bats well all day, up and down the lineup, and it was important for our new guys to realize that, especially in our ballpark, you have to keep grinding the entire game," said Head Coach Mike McGuire. "I thought we did that, and we kept manufacturing runs."
Stephens added a triple and a home run to his day's resume, and Schneider finished with six RBI while hitting a home run and a double. Kent scored six times in the two contests.
In the opener, MSU sped out to a 12-1 lead after three innings before Siena put a five-spot on the board in the fourth. The hosts plated five runs in the fifth and scored six times in the seventh.
Starter Luke Humphreys, who was slated to only throw a minimal pitch count, was credited with the win to improve to 2-0. He allowed two runs in the first two frames before giving way to sophomore lefty Aaron Leasher, who surrendered five runs. Freshman Jason Goe and senior Matt Ellenbest tossed the final three and didn't allow a run.
"I didn't think Luke or Aaron were very sharp today, but it was a different scenario for them and they are both great pitchers," McGuire added. "Luke knew he wasn't going to be in long with conference play starting next weekend, and Aaron came out of the bullpen, which he isn't used to."
In the nightcap, Anderson (3-0) was perfect through five frames and had struck out 10. He surrendered a trio of Siena runs in the sixth before giving way to the bullpen. Senior righty Tyler Keele struck out the side to close the top of the ninth.
"Matt was very sharp and worked efficiently when he was in there," McGuire said.
MSU built a 6-0 lead after three innings and added a four-spot in the sixth. Junior leftfielder Michael Patrick led the team with three RBI in that game.
The Eagles host Longwood on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET before entertaining Tennessee Tech to open Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend.
