March 12, 2008

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

MOREHEAD, Kentucky - Cleveland State closed out their series against Morehead State with an exclamation point in the form of an 11-4 win, in a non-league game Wednesday afternoon at Allen Field in Morehead, Ky. The Vikings posted a season-high 15 hits as well as four home runs in the rout.

The Vikings improve to 3-6 on the season, while Morehead drops to 6-5.

Senior second baseman Bobby Cash sparked the Viking offense with two home runs and three RBI, going 2-for-5 overall from the plate. Also adding home runs for the Vikings were right fielder Travis Miller and shortstop Tom Carter.

Cash's first longball came with the Vikings trailing by a 1-0 score in the top of the second, a solo shot which tied the game at one apiece.

After 1B John Brown stuck out swinging, the Vikings got another solo home run in the inning from Miller, which would put CSU on top for good.

A five-run third inning provided the Vikings with plenty of insurance. CF Brad Buell was the first to score in the third after reaching first on a bunt single, second on a wild pitch, and swiping third. He was driven in by a deep fly courtesy of C Josh Geric, making the score 3-1. LF Kyle Bischof then reached first on a single and was driven home by designated hitter Josh Hungerman, pushing the Viking advantage to 4-1.

Cash then added his second home run of the afternoon, this time a 2-run shot to increase CSU's lead to 6-1. Brown then was hit by a pitch to reach first and was driven home by an RBI double from Miller, finally sending Morehead starter J.R. Peck (2.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) to the showers in favor of Jake Helvy. Helvy was then able to end the inning by getting the Vikings' Carter to fly out.

With the score at 7-1 after the top of the third, the Eagles were only able to manage three more runs the rest of the way while the Vikings added four to their total in the subsequent three innings.

Viking starting pitcher Dylan Henry gave his team four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits, adding two strikeouts. It was the CSU bullpen that then slammed the door shut on Morehead, as Vasili Pahoulis and Chris Bauman combined to shut out the Eagles from the fifth inning on, allowing only four hits for the rest of the game. Pahoulis (1-2) got the win for the Vikings, who have now won two straight.

The Eagles were led in defeat by designated hitter Mike Bottoms, who had a team-high two RBI, going 3-for-4 from the plate.

The Vikings return to action on Friday, March 14, as the team travels to Evansville, Indiana for the opening game of the Dunn Hospitality Diamond Classic against Evansville at Braun Stadium. The game is slated to start at 3:00 p.m. ET.