After struggling in the opener, resilient Eagles bounce back in game two as a team out-hits Belmont

next game:

at Belmont

4/24/2022 | 2:00 PM

Apr 24 (Sun) / 2:00 PM

at Belmont

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Senior first baseman Alexis Strother notched three hits, while senior catcher/shortstop Peyton Slater added two and three RBI as the Eagles pounded out 11 hits in a game two 7-4 defeat of its Saturday contest at ES Rose Park in Nashville against Ohio Valley Conference foe Belmont. It was the team’s highest hit total in nearly seven weeks, a pleasant note for a squad that has struggled with its offense this year.

It was Morehead State’s third-most hits in a game this season behind the 13 it had against Gardner-Webb on Feb. 19 and 12 it had against Rider on Mar. 13. The accomplishment was even more impressive considering Bruin sophomore pitcher Emma Summers threw the school’s first-ever perfect game in the opener, in which Belmont claimed a 6-0 victory.

That resilience was a point of pride for MSU coach Samantha Jones.

“For the second game, we did a lot better job of competing in our at-bats, getting people on base. We left eight people on base, which were obviously opportunities to score runs,” she said. “We did a great job of utilizing our small game with some bunts, stolen bases. So, we will continue to utilize that part of our game tomorrow, as we think it was effective. We expect to see Emma Summers again. We need to make adjustments in the box and get ready to drive that outside pitch that she is throwing us and laying off the rise.”

After Morehead State (5-30/4-14) went down in order to start game two, Belmont (25-11/15-4) opened with a pair or runs. Leadoff batter senior center fielder Cheyenne Cavanaugh was hit by a pitch and then proceeded to steal second. With one out, freshman right fielder Emma Barnes singled to left field to score Cavanaugh and junior first baseman Abi Ledbetter doubled to score Barnes.

However, the Eagles did not fold. Strother started the second with a double to left-center field and moved to third after senior third baseman Peyton Rose hit a pop fly in foul territory. A fly out to center ended the inning.

The Bruins picked up a single in their half of the frame and the runner eventually advanced all the way to third, before Cavanaugh’s pop fly in the infield resulted in the third out.

In the third, freshman catcher Ilencia Lightbody walked after a full count and junior center fielder Trinity Spear followed by reaching base on a fielder’s choice. Junior left fielder Madeline Gailor singled and then stole second, and sophomore Peyton Jordan singled to load the bases. Slater then cleared the bases with a one-out double to left-center to give the Eagles their first lead of the day. The Bruins induced the next two batters to commit outs to leave the score at 3-2.

However, Belmont responded and returned the lead to the hosts with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. The Bruins started with back-to-back singles, but did the damage with a two-out single that freshman third baseman Emily Cockrill tried to extend into a double.

The Eagles again did not back down. Rose drew her 14th hit by a pitch and Lightbody singled to right-center. A passed ball moved both runners into scoring position, but the third fly ball into the outfield ended the inning.

Freshman pitcher Madi Ogden retired the side in the bottom of the fourth to keep the margin at one run.

Again, in the top of the fifth, Morehead State put together a multi-hit inning and eventually loaded the bases. The hosts began the inning by making a change in the circle, replacing starter sophomore Alex Celsa with freshman Delayna Bryant.

With two outs, Strother and Ogden each singled up the middle, and Rose got hit by another pitch, the third time this year she was plunked twice in the same game. It was the 27th time since 2010 that an MSU batter was hit twice in a single contest. Rose became just the second person during that period to have achieved that feat three times in one campaign.

Ogden again sat down all three Bruin batters she faced in the fifth.

Lightbody’s leadoff bunt was successful to start the Eagles’ sixth. Spear reached base on a fielder’s choice, but was eventually called out trying to take second, ending the inning.

Belmont was able to give itself a cushion in the bottom of the sixth. Ledbetter doubled to lead off the frame, and sophomore designated player Gabrielle Givers walked. Both moved up a base on a passed ball before scoring on a double that went down the left-field line from senior shortstop Elison Ollinger. After Ollinger reached third on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly by senior catcher Audrey Lyle pushed the hosts lead to 7-3.

For the third straight inning, the visitors did not just accept their fate. Jordan started a rally with an infield single. Slater followed with a single to center that moved Jordan to third. Strother then picked up her third hit of the day, a season high, with a single to right field that sent Slater home.

At that point, the Bruins turned to Summers.

For the third time in the game, Rose was hit by a pitch, setting a new school record and loading the bases with just one out.

However, Summers struck out the final two batters of the game after reaching a full count in each case.

Strother led MSU with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Jordan and Slater were each 2-for-4, and Lightbody was 2-for-3. Gailor and Ogden also recorded hits. Slater registered three of the team’s four RBI, with Strother credited for the other one. Jordan scored a team-best two times. Gailor and Spear each scored once.

Morehead State had its chances. It left 10 runners left on base, which matched a season high set twice, both times in games on February 19 (against Gardner-Webb and East Tennessee State). It also put the ball in play, having Belmont make nine outs with catches and four on the ground.

Ogden suffered the loss to drop to 1-9. She surrendered eight hits and seven earned runs, while walking one and striking out one in a complete-game effort.

Barnes and Ledbetter led Belmont with two hits apiece. Barnes and Givers each scored twice. Cockrill and Ollinger were credited with two RBI apiece.

Clesi earned the win and improved to 6-1 after pitching four innings and allowing just five hits and three runs earned. She also had three strikeouts and one walk. Bryant saw two innings of relief work, giving up six hits and a run, with no walks and a strikeout. Summers earned her second save of the season after throwing a scoreless seventh inning. Facing four batters, she hit one and struck out the rest.

In the opener, Summers was the complete story.

Simply put, she was perfect. She even earned the praise of Jones.

“For the first game, hat’s off to the pitcher, Emma Summers, as she threw a perfect game. She spun the ball very well, was throwing curve and rise (balls and) kept our hitters off balance,” she said. “I think defensively, Lennon did a great job on the mound keeping their hitters off balance. They just had some timely hits (and) was able to push some runs passed us.”

Belmont scored three times in the second, once in the fourth and twice in the sixth to pull out the 6-0 victory. A four-hit second inning was enough to give the hosts a lead that was never challenged.

Cavanaugh hit a two-out solo homer over the fence in center field to extend the Bruins lead to 4-0 after four.

They added their final two runs off three hits in the sixth.

MSU junior shortstop Kirya Kingery left the game in the bottom of the second and did not return for the nightcap.

The Eagles made Summers work with four of the 21 batters going to a full count. She finished the day throwing 89 pitches, of which 59 were strikes, striking out 16 in the process. The win was her 10th of the season against six losses.

MSU sophomore hurler Lennon Spicer also pitched well, but dropped the decision to fall to 4-15 on the year. She allowed six earned runs on 10 hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. She threw 104 pitches, more than two-thirds of which were strikes (70).

Seven Bruins picked up hits. Cockrill, Ollinger and Lyle each had two. Cavanaugh finished with three RBI, and Ollinger scored a game-best two times.

The two teams will meet again Sunday in a 3 pm ET game to close out the series.

Morehead State will continue its six-game road trip with its final stop for two games on Wednesday at Tennessee Tech. The Eagles return home to play Tennessee State next Saturday and Sunday to start a seven-game stint at University Field.