Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
The Murray State Aggies rallied for a 5-4 win over Carl Albert State College on Saturday at The Ranch to wrap up the 2024 baseball season with a 30-23 record, but fell one game short of the league tournament despite winning the final three conference series of the year.

Coach Sam Bjorling's club got off to a quick lead in the nine-inning affair, plating one run in the first stanza and another in the third. A Wilbert Espinal double was the pivotal blow in the first tally and Andrew Tinsley accounted for the second with a solo home run.

Carl Albert answered with three runs in the fifth to go in front 3-2 before Murray State responded one frame later by notching a pair. Trace Necessary opened with a double with Ty Chaddrick and Mason Shimkus chipping in RBI singles.

After the Vikings knotted the game at 4-4 in the seventh, the Aggies returned the favor with a run in the bottom of the stanza to go ahead for good. Espinal doubled and scored on a two-out two-bagger from Necessary.

Southpaw Jakob Blackwell earned the pitching victory, yielding three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over six innings. Kaleb Melvin and Conner Smeltzer each posted one scoreless inning of mound work and Ryan Dugas contributed another stanza, yielding one unearned run.

Espinal had the monster game at the plate, picking up four of the Aggies' 10 hits in the contest, including two doubles. Necessary also had a multi-hit game with two doubles.

Tinsley, Ethan Rone, Chaddrick and Shimkus finished with one hit apiece.