Brady Benedict/Baseball | Murray State College
Brady Benedict/Baseball | Murray State College
Sophomore Brady Benedict provided a perfect 4-for-4 outing at the plate to spur a 14-hit Murray State onslaught in a 16-4 season-opening win over Texas Post Grad on Saturday at The Ranch in Tishomingo.
The nationally 10th ranked Aggies blasted three home runs and erased an early 1-0 deficit on the way to a 9-1 victory in Game 2 in finishing off the impressive two-game sweep.
Garrett Gruell set the tone with a solo home run in his initial at-bat of the season just two batters into the opening contest for a 1-0 advantage before the Aggies erupted for seven more in the next stanza while taking complete command. Trace Necessary's grand slam homer was the key hit in the second-inning uprising.
The Texas squad narrowed the gap to 9-4 in the fifth but that rally was quickly squelched when Benedict tripled and Gruell homered again as part of six-run bottom of the frame.
Benedict tacked on a solo home run in the sixth to finishing of sensational season debut while also scoring four times and driving in two. Ashton Inman chipped in three hits with Gruell and Kale Miller adding two apiece. Necessary only had the one hit but posted a team-high five RBI.
Colby Langford struck out five in just two innings to get credit for the pitching victory. Will Ellis also fanned four in two frames.
After spotting the visitors an unearned run in the first frame of the second game, Murray State tied it up with an Inman solo homer leading off the second. Patrick McCullough followed with a double and two batters later Wilbert Espinal made it 3-1 with a first-pitch blast over the centerfield wall.
The Aggies added three more tallies in the fourth inning as Benedict doubled and Gage Gilchrist walked ahead of Gruell's line drive smash to left. They picked up the final three runs in the fifth, sandwiching six walks around a McCullough triple.
That was plenty of run support for freshman Brody Roe, who worked three innings for the win while scattering three hits and striking out six. McCullough led the charge with three hits as Inman contributed two.
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