Baseball 2/26/2023 8:26:00 PM

Baseball takes two at North Central Texas

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Solid pitching led the charge and Murray State added a late offensive barrage in game one of a doubleheader sweep on the road at North Central Texas College on Sunday afternoon.

The Aggies took the first game of the twinbill, 15-3, and then the second game in more of a pitching duel by a 4-1 count to improve to 14-2 on the season. Murray State will be back on the diamond Monday at Richland College for a noon first pitch.

In the opener, the Aggies trailed 3-2 going into the sixth inning when they erupted for eight runs and notched another five in the seventh to pull away.

Wilbert Espinal and Jaxon Gless had singles to start the uprising in the sixth before Garrett Gruell blasted a grand slam to put Murray State in front. Patrick McCullough tripled in two more runs and Kale Miller picked up an RBI with a sacrifice bunt to build a 10-3 edge.

Gruell and Clay Jung each singled to start the five-run burst a frame later and the Aggies pushed across runs with a walk, sacrifice fly and pair of North Central errors for the final margin.

Will Ellis was the pitching benefactor of the offensive surge, credited with the win as he tossed two scoreless innings of relief, allowing no hits and fanning three. Dylan Hill fired the first four stanzas as he yielded three unearned runs on two, striking out six.

Gruell finished with three hits with Brady Benedict adding a pair, including a double, in the 11-hit Aggie charge.

It was a role reversal in the second contest as Murray State built a 4-0 advantage, plating single runs in the first and second frame and then two in the third.

The Aggies opened the scoring with two-out hits by Jung and Inman before McCullough's RBI single. A similar story started the second frame as Miller and Benedict singled and the run scored on a North Central error.

Murray's two-run third was ignited by McCullough and Espinal singles with Andrew Tinsley and Benedict each picking up an RBI.

Nathan Darden twirled three and one-third innings of scoreless one-hit relief in which he struck out five to record the pitching win.

Benedict posted three hits and McCullough pitched in two for the Murray State attack.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Patrick McCullough: Sophomore

#2 Brady Benedict: Redshirt Sophomore

#5 Clay Jung: Sophomore

#7 Wilbert Espinal: Freshman

#20 Andrew Tinsley: Redshirt Freshman

#25 Dylan Hill: Redshirt Sophomore

#28 Will Ellis: Sophomore

#29 Nathan Darden: Redshirt Freshman

#44 Garrett Gruell: Sophomore

#12 Jaxon Gless: Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Patrick McCullough
: Sophomore

#2 Brady Benedict
: Redshirt Sophomore

#5 Clay Jung
: Sophomore

#7 Wilbert Espinal
: Freshman

#20 Andrew Tinsley
: Redshirt Freshman

#25 Dylan Hill
: Redshirt Sophomore

#28 Will Ellis
: Sophomore

#29 Nathan Darden
: Redshirt Freshman

#44 Garrett Gruell
: Sophomore

#12 Jaxon Gless
: Freshman