Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
TONKAWA, Okla - The Murray State Aggie baseball team pounded out 14 hits in the opener Saturday, but watched a four-run lead in extra innings slip away as they dropped a conference twinbill on the road at Northern Oklahoma College.

Murray State was on the wrong end of a 12-11 nailbiter in game one and then fell 5-3 in game two as well. Coach Sam Bjorling's club fell to 19-21 overall and 5-15 in league action while NOC-Tonkawa upped its conference mark to 12-9.

The Aggies return to the friendly confines of The Ranch, where they have notched 14 of their victories, for a four-game homestand beginning with a non-conference date with Rose State College at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
 
It was a back-and-forth offensive battle throughout the opener with the host Mavericks initially scoring three runs in its final two at-bats to force extra innings and then countered a Murray State surge with five runs in the bottom of the ninth to win.

Murray State scored four with two outs in its half of the third inning to erase an early 2-0 deficit. The Aggies notched the first tally after a Tonkawa error before singles from Andrew Tinsley, Ethan Rone and Brennan Morgan kept the flurry going.

They broke a 4-4 deadlock with a three-run surge in the sixth, stringing together singles by Ty Chaddrick and Gage Gilchrist ahead of an Austin Haley two RBI double. Tinsley also chipped in a run-scoring hit.

The Aggies couldn't close it out however, yielding two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to force extra inning.

Following a scoreless eighth, Murray State found its groove once more as Morgan doubled, Mason Shimkus and Chaddick singled and Gilchrist added a double to help forge an 11-7 cushion with three outs remaining. They never got those however with the Mavericks stringing together four hits with three walks to pick up the victory.

Morgan finished with three hits and drove in two to pace the Murray State offense. Haley, Gilchrist, Tinsley and Chaddrick all had two hits with Haley driving in three runs. Wilbert Espinal, Rone and Shimkus checked in with one hit apiece.

Closer Nathan Darden was tagged with the pitching loss, yielding six runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and four walks in three and one-third frames. Cash Kuiper worked five innings in the starting assignment, scattering six runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Kaleb Melvin tossed one-third of an inning in relief.

Scoring was a bit more limited in the second contest as the Aggies watched a 2-1 fourth inning lead slip away.

The Aggies plated a pair of runs in the second inning as Espinal smacked a solo home run and Kane Springer tallied an RBI single to plate Morgan.

Tonkawa answered with four tallies in its half of the fourth to go on top for good as a seventh inning Murray State rally came up short following doubles from Shimkus and Chaddrick.

Tinsley, Espinal, Morgan, Trace Necessary, Springer, Shimkus and Chaddrick wrapped up with one hit each.

Jake Blackwell was charged with the pitching loss, tossing the first three and two-third frames while giving up five runs on nine hits and striking out three. Jakob Holzer added two and one-third innings of scoreless relief.