Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Aggies battle South Ark to baseball series split

By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
EL DORADO, Ark. – For the second straight day, Murray State's baseball team settled for a doubleheader split with SouthArk Community College on Saturday to break even in the four-game series.

The Aggies were 4-2 victors before suffering a 12-10 loss similar to that on Friday to wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 16-10 record.

Coach Sam Bjorling's squad will open the Region 2 league schedule on Thursday at The Ranch in Tishomingo by hosting Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa for a 1 p.m. twinbill.

Murray State plated four runs in the first two innings of game one before going scoreless the rest of the way. Those tallies however proved to be enough thanks to another stellar pitching effort from sophomore Austin Haley, who allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with nine strikeouts and three walks in six and two-third innings. Jakob Holzer got the final out with a strikeout to record the save.

The Aggies did all the first frame damage with two outs and nobody on as Haley and Michael Barham notched back-to-back singles and Brady Taylor was hit by a pitch. Brennan Morgan then came through with a two-run double that pushed the Murray State cushion to 3-0.

They added another tally in the second frame on Juhno Son's solo homer over the rightfield wall.

It was still 4-0 going to the seventh and final frame of the game when the host Stars plated two and were threatening for more when Holzer slammed the door in relief.

Murray State notched five hits in the contest with one apiece from Son, Haley, Barham, Morgan and Tanner Norman.

Game two was an offensive showcase for both squads as the Aggies scored at least once in each of the first four innings before hitting a dry spell until the ninth.

Taylor's RBI double plated the initial run in the first stanza and Haley's double added another run in the second frame. They picked up four hits in the third on singles by Barham, Zach Makarewich, Morgan and Kaden Monkerud before making it a 6-3 edge in the fourth when Haley doubled and scored on a hit from Taylor.

That advantage proved precarious however as South Ark scored nine unanswered tallies from the fifth through eighth innings for a commanding 12-6 lead.

Murray State was not quite finished though as six straight batters reached to begin the ninth, four of which came via free passes and singles by Son and Barham. A Marlon Moore single narrowed the gap to 12-10 but Murray State left the bases loaded to end the contest.
The Aggies had 12 hits in the game with two each coming from Haley, Barham, Taylor and Makarewich. Son, Morgan, Monkerud and Moore tallied one apiece.

Carson Culbreath, Ty Frakes and Morgan all saw mound action with each giving up multiple runs to the explosive Stars attack.