Baseball 3/5/2024 6:53:00 PM

Darden slams door after Aggies grab late lead

Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Ethan Rone singled and came around to score on an eighth inning error and Nathan Darden slammed the door for the save to lift the Murray State Aggies to a 6-5 baseball win over Seminole State College on Tuesday afternoon at The Ranch.

Coach Sam Bjorling's squad improved to 13-8 on the season with the impressive victory while the NJCAA Division 1 Trojans fell to 11-8. Murray State continues another week of a monster 17-game homestand on Friday against Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.

The Aggies took an early lead with a pair of runs in the opening stanza, but that number could have been a lot more after the initial four hitters all reached base. Gage Gilchrist singled, Austin Haley walked and Wilbert Espinal drove in one with a double to leftfield.

Andrew Tinsley pushed across another run with a lined single, but he was thrown out stealing ahead of a strikeout and groundout that squelched the flurry in a hurry.

Seminole answered back with single runs in the second and fourth frames and added two more in the fifth to go in front 4-2. That advantage was short-lived however as Murray State found its offensive spark with three runs of its own.

Brennan Morgan was hit by a pitch, Jaxon Gless singled and both rode home on a one-out home run blast from Gilchrist.

Seminole got a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to tie things at 5-5, but the bottom of the Aggie order came through again. Rone led off with a single and Morgan also singled before a bunt from Gless was thrown away to allow the go-ahead run to score.

That proved to be all that Darden would need in the ninth, although the Aggie closer was a bit shaky after an inning-opening strikeout. A walk and single put the go-ahead runs on base for a second strikeout and for the second time in less than a week Murray State won a game on an out on the base paths.

Murray State tallied eight hits with Gilchrist notching two of those while also driving in three. Espinal and Tinsley had one hit and one RBI each with Haley, Rone, Morgan and Gless all posting one.

Five Aggie hurlers saw action with Cooper Ewing going four stanzas, scattering two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and four walks, to pick up the pitching win. Darden allowed one hit but also fanned two.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Wilbert Espinal: OF; Redshirt Sophomore; L/R

#3 Ethan Rone: 3B/RHP; Sophomore; R/R

#6 Jaxon Gless: C/RHP; Sophomore; R/R

#13 Gage Gilchrist: 1B; Sophomore; L/R

#15 Cooper Ewing: LHP; Sophomore; R/L

#5 Austin Haley: INF/RHP; Freshman; R/R

#20 Andrew Tinsley: OF; Sophomore; R/R

#21 Brennan Morgan: INF; Freshman; R/R

#29 Nathan Darden: RHP; Sophomore; R/R

Players Mentioned

#7 Wilbert Espinal
: Redshirt Sophomore; L/R
: OF

#3 Ethan Rone
: Sophomore; R/R
: 3B/RHP

#6 Jaxon Gless
: Sophomore; R/R
: C/RHP

#13 Gage Gilchrist
: Sophomore; L/R
: 1B

#15 Cooper Ewing
: Sophomore; R/L
: LHP

#5 Austin Haley
: Freshman; R/R
: INF/RHP

#20 Andrew Tinsley
: Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#21 Brennan Morgan
: Freshman; R/R
: INF

#29 Nathan Darden
: Sophomore; R/R
: RHP