Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
POTEAU, Okla – Murray State rode two big innings to a game one victory before settling for a split in conference baseball action on Saturday at Carl Albert State College.

The Aggies notched the 8-4 triumph in game one before the Vikings bounced back to grab the nightcap 11-6. Murray State is now 18-16 overall and 4-10 in league play while Carl Albert moves to 20-13 and 8-7 in conference.

Coach Sam Bjorling's club will be back on the road again this week, travelling to Western Oklahoma College in Altus for a three-game series beginning at 2 p.m. Friday that starts the second half of conference play.

The Aggies took the lead in the opener with three runs in the top of the first stanza and never relinquished it throughout. Gage Gilchrist and Ethan Rone opened the frame with singles, and both scored on a two-out double from Brennan Morgan. Trevin Pettigrew also followed with an RBI single.

Murray State held a 3-2 edge into the fourth when the Aggie bats erupted for five runs to build a commanding advantage.

Pettigrew doubled in front of three walks and Rone then deposited a grand slam over the centerfield wall to round out the scoring.

Rone led the charge with two hits and four batted in with Pettigrew adding and pair of hits and one RBI. Gilchrist, Andrew Tinsley and Morgan tallied one hit apiece.

Cash Kuiper posted five and two-third frames in the start to record the pitching win as he scattered four runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked three. Kaleb Melvin and Nathan Darden tossed in two-third inning stints of scoreless relief.

Murray jumped to an early 3-1 lead in game two as well, plating three runs in the second inning as Pettigrew drove in one with a double. Ty Chaddrick pitched in a run-scoring sacrifice fly and Jaxon Gless also had an RBI single.

A run in the third and two in the fifth put Carl Albert in front in the nine-inning affair and the Vikings tacked on six more to put it away in the seventh.

The Aggies notched three runs in the ninth, cashing in Chaddrick and Gilchrist singles along with a Rone two-run double but that proved to be all the visitors could get to close the game.

Morgan tallied two hits with one each from Gilchrist, Rone, Wilbert Espinal, Tinsley, Pettigrew, Chaddrick and Gless.

Jakob Blackwell fired six and one-third innings, yielding five runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks and was tagged with the loss. Javarian Roquemore yielded two runs and four hits in an inning and two-third while Kyndon Lovell and Ryan Dugas also pitched but didn't record an out.