Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
The Murray State Aggies missed a four-game conference sweep but still managed to split Saturday's baseball doubleheader with Redlands Community College at The Ranch and take the series.

Coach Sam Bjorling's squad held on for an 8-6 triumph in game one, but their late rally came up short in an 11-8 defeat in the nightcap. Now 34-14 overall and 18-10 in conference play, Murray State remains home Thursday with a 1 p.m. twinbill against Carl Albert State College.

There were very few scoreless stanzas in the opening contest but three of the four were on Redlands' ledger as the Aggies took advantage while scoring at least once in all but one inning.

Wilbert Espinal's two-run homer with two outs staked Murray State to the early lead and Ashton Inman added a solo blast in the third inning before the visitors knotted the score at 3-3 one frame later. That was short-lived however, thanks mainly to a towering three-run homer over the leftfield wall by Garrett Gruell that put the Aggies in front for good.

They tacked on a single run with a Clay Jung RBI double in the fifth and another with Jaxon Gless' run-scoring single in the sixth stanza.

Southpaw Brody Roe was credited with the pitching win as he scattered four runs on four hits over five innings and in the process struck out six. Tyler Zylstra tossed the final two frames, allowing two runs on two hits along with five strikeouts.

Patrick McCullough posted two of the Aggies' nine hits in the game. Jung, Gruell, Espinal, Trace Necessary, Inman, Gless and Brady Benedict each had one hit.

Redlands snagged an early 4-0 edge in game two, which held up the rest of the way, but not without some tense moments as Murray State strung together a late rally with five runs in its final two at bats but fell just short.

The Aggies narrowed the gap with a Gage Gilchrist bases walk and Espinal run-scoring single in the third. Benedict chipped in a RBI double in the fourth to get it down to 4-3.

Murray State trailed 10-3 in the eighth before coming alive once again with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Benedict's second double of the game drove in the first tally with Jung and Gilchrist also contributed RBIs.

After Redlands answered by getting one run back in the top of the ninth, the Aggies had one final chance as Patrick McCullough singled and rode home on a Mason Shimkus home run. They were never able to get the tying run to the plate however.

Five Aggie hurlers combined in the losing effort with Will Ellis covering most of those in five solid innings, which saw him allow two runs on six hits.

Espinal led the charge with three hits and one RBI, Benedict added the two doubles and two batted in while Inman also pitched in two hits. Gilchrist, McCullough and Shimkus had one apiece.