SC Oklahoma News

A 4-run sixth inning rallied Murray State to a game one victory and helped fuel the Aggies to a baseball sweep at National Park College Friday night in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Despite a five-hour weather delay, the Aggies notched a 9-7 triumph in the opener and then exploded past the Nighthawks by 12-7 count in the second contest that closed in on midnight. Now 24-8 overall and 8-4 in conference action, Murray State returns to action Wednesday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at David Allen Ballpark in Enid against Northern Oklahoma College-Enid.

National Park carried a 7-5 edge into the sixth frame of the seven inning affair before the Aggies came alive offensively. Jaxon Gless led off with a single before a walk to Brady Benedict and Gage Gilchrist single loaded the bases.

Garrett Gruell then coaxed a bases loaded walk to force in the first run and Clay Jung knotted the score with an RBI single. Two batters later Patrick McCullough came through with the fourth Murray State single of the inning, plating two to take the lead for good.

Nathan Darden then came on from the bullpen with two frames of scoreless relief for the save.

The Aggies scored twice in the first inning and three times in the fourth, tallying nine hits fueled by a pair of doubles from Trace Necessary. Jung posted two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs while McCullough had two hits and one RBI. Andrew Tinsley chipped in a triple.

Gruell proved to be the catalyst in the nightcap with four hits and four runs batted in, blasting a double and team-leading 12th home run of the season.

Murray State got off to a fast start with a run in the first stanza on a Wilbert Espinal RBI single and then added two runs in the third spurred by back-to-back doubles from Gilchrist and Gruell. A run-scoring hit by Benedict one frame later gave the Aggies a 4-1 edge going into the decisive fifth frame when they erupted with eight runs to put it out of reach.

Coach Sam Bjorling's squad sent 11 batters to the plate in the explosive fifth, stringing together five hits including Gruell's three-run blast to rightfield.

Freshman southpaw Brody Roe tossed five innings for the pitching win, yielding four runs (three earned) on five hits and struck out seven. Ryan Dugas and Tyler Zylstra each contributed a scoreless frame of relief apiece, each striking out two.

Espinal and Benedict also notched two hits and a pair of RBI apiece. 

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