Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
ABILENE, Texas – Murray State smacked Grayson College in game one but found offense tough to come by in the nightcap against Navarro College while splitting a doubleheader in festival action at Abilene Christian on Saturday.

The Aggies blitzed the Vikings, 14-4, in the opener before coming up on the short end of a 7-2 verdict that left them at 2-1 after the season-opening road trip. Coach Sam Bjorling's club will continue on the road for their next outing Saturday, February 10 at powerful Connors State College in Warner.

In the first game, got a massive offensive performance from sophomore Gage Gilchrist as the Aggie standout blasted a double, home run and drove in six to key the run rule victory.

Murray State built a 3-0 edge through two stanzas as Ethan Rone belted a two-run homer and Haley doubled and scored. The Aggies answered a Grayson run with four more in the fourth inning as Gilchrist's double knocked in three of those. Rone also chipped in a run-scoring two-bagger.

Coach Sam Bjorling's club tacked on two more runs in the fifth and then put it completely away with five tallies in the seventh when Gilchrist plated three more with his home run. Trace Necessary contributed a RBI single.

Rone contributed the two extra base hits and drove in four. Brady Richardson chipped in a hit and two RBI with Austin Haley, Andrew Tinsley and Necessary all adding one hit.

Lefty Jake Blackwell twirled five solid innings to pick up the mound victory, yielding a pair of runs on five hits while striking out seven. Cooper Ewing tossed in two frames, allowing two runs on two hits.

The Aggies were limited to just four hits in the nine-inning nightcap while suffering their first loss.

Navarro rumbled to a 5-0 lead through two frames and held that margin until the sixth when Murray State plated its first run as Richardson reached on an error and eventually scored on a passed ball.

They added another run to cut into the lead in the seventh when Wilbert Espinal doubled and scored on a Navarro error but that proved to be as close as it would get.

Espinal, Rone, Necessary and Tinsley ended with one hit apiece.

Cash Kuiper fired three innings in the pitching start, allowing five runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Kyndon Lovell contributed two and two-third frames of scoreless relief while Javarian Roquemore finished the final two and one-third frames, yielding two unearned runs on one hit, striking out three in the process.