JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Murray State (1-1) took a lead early in the game and didn't look back as North Florida baseball dropped game two of the season-opening series Saturday, setting up a rubber game three tomorrow at Harmon Stadium.
Two UNF (1-1) debuts and first-career starts were had on Saturday, with freshman
Finn Howell picking up his multi-RBI game as an Osprey.
Murray State, 11, UNF 3
Pitchers of Record
Win: Cade Vernon (1-0)
Loss:
Tony Roca (0-1)
Save: Bryce Valero (1)
Line Scores
MSU | 11R, 13H, E, 8 LOB
UNF | 3R, 8H, 4E, 11 LOB
Behind the Line Score
- Murray State scored in the second after a double to the left center gap and a fielding error brought home the first run of the game.
- A walk, flurry of singles and a fortuitous double sliced down the right field line helped Murray State complete a five-run second inning.
- UNF got two back in the third. After two walks opened the session, Aidan Sweatt moved them over with a groundout. Finn Howell laced an infield single that couldn't be handled at short, driving in Drew Leinenbach. Jakob Runnels scored Cade Reich with a sac fly.
- A single, hit by pitch, walk and an error allowed Murray State to expand its lead to 7-2 in the fifth.
- One more Racer run came in the seventh with a single and a double.
- A leadoff fielding error resulted in a run for UNF in the seventh, as Howell plated Reich with a sac fly later in the session.
- Murray State widened its lead with a three-run homer in the eighth.
Statistical Leaders
MSU
- Carson Garner | 2-for-3, 3R, 3RBI, 2BB, HR
- Taylor Howell | 2-for-5, 2RBI, R
- Cade Vernon | W, 5.0 IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K
UNF
Notes
- Brandon Adams made his UNF debut in relief
- Runnels has two RBI, one Friday and another today. He made his first-career start at catcher
- Cherokee Nichols made his first UNF start
- Spots one through six in the order all tallied at least one hit, with Peyton Sybrandt notching the first two hits of his UNF career
- Cade Reich has already scored four runs through two games
Up Next
UNF and Murray State battle it out for the deciding third game of the series tomorrow at 1:05 p.m.