BOX SCORE

PLAY-BY-PLAY

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Every position starter recorded at least two of the Colonels’ 22 hits as the bats of the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team finally came alive in a 20-16 win over East Tennessee State at Cardinal Park on Tuesday night.

With the win, EKU improves to 13-14 on the season while ETSU falls to 17-10.

Coming into Tuesday, the Colonels, who ranked 10th in the country in scoring last season at 9.2 runs per game, had only scored more than 10 runs twice this season, the last time in a 25-16 loss to High Point on March 14.

This is the first time EKU has scored 20 runs or more since a 24-23 loss at Western Carolina on April 8 of last year.

Senior Anthony Ottrando, junior Richie Allen and sophomores Richie Rodriguez and Michael Garcia all collected three hits on the night for EKU, while junior Ryan Faidley led the Colonels with five RBI and junior Jayson Langfels scored a team-best four runs.

Langfels, Faidley and Garcia all smashed home runs in a game in which EKU never trailed. Garcia’s home run was a grand slam, his second grand slam of the season.

Derek Trent led the Buccaneers offensively as he went 4-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored. Bo Reeder batted 2-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored for ETSU.

Sophomore right-hander Eric Sanders (1-1) picked up his first win of the season as he went 1.1 innings and allowed two runs on two hits.

Junior right-hander Macon Smith started on the hill for the Colonels and worked 3.2 innings, surrendering nine runs on 12 hits.

EKU used five pitchers on the night. Junior right-hander Ryne Purcell was the only pitcher for either team to get a 1-2-3 inning when he efficiently closed things down for the Colonels in the ninth.

Right-hander Scott McNalley received the loss for ETSU, going just two innings and allowing seven runs on seven hits.

The Colonels jumped on ETSU early as a two-run double to left center by Ottrando and a two-run bomb to left by Faidley made it 4-0 before the first inning was even done. EKU added to that lead in the top of the second as sophomore Dustin Dunlop doubled down the left field and then came home on an RBI single by Rodriguez. Two batters later, Langfels made it 7-0 with a two-run opposite field home run.

ETSU made it 7-3 before Garcia’s two-out grand slam highlighted a five-run fourth for the Colonels that made the score 12-3. The Buccaneers, however, plated six in their half of the fourth as Michael Gonzales highlighted the big inning with a two-run inside-the-park home run that cut the Colonel lead to 12-9.

After both teams traded single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, EKU finally opened the game up again in the seventh with a five-run effort that was highlighted by an RBI double from Ottrando and two-run base hit by Faidley that made the score 19-11.

The Buccaneers pushed three runs across in the seventh and two in the eighth; however, the Colonels added an insurance run in the top of the ninth off an RBI single by senior Joey Stevens that plated freshman Austin Grisham, and then Purcell made quick work of three ETSU batters in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the victory.

EKU will go for two in a row over ETSU tomorrow in the second and final game of this midweek non-conference series. First pitch at Cardinal Park is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.