Box Score I Play-by-Play

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Junior left-hander Shane Grimm tossed his second complete game of the season as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team finished off its weekend sweep of host Morehead State with a convincing 9-1 win over the Eagles on Sunday afternoon in the finale of this weekend’s Ohio Valley Conference series at Allen Field.

With the resounding sweep, EKU (22-19, 12-6 OVC), which has won 15 of its last 19 games, remains in a tie for second place with Jacksonville State in the conference standings, and remains in the hunt for a regular season OVC title. The loss, meanwhile, drops MSU to 24-19 (9-9 OVC). EKU and MSU entered this weekend tied for third place in the OVC.

Grimm (5-4) went the distance without allowing an earned run. The Paintsville Ky. native stifled the MSU offense all day, scattering six hits, permitting just two walks and striking out four batters to lead the Colonels to their first Sunday conference win since April 1.

Left-hander Garrick Whittle (1-3) picked up the loss for MSU, going 4.2 innings and surrendering six runs (only one of them earned) on eight hits while striking out five batters. Whittle did not receive much assistance from his defense, as the Eagles committed five errors on the day.

One day after becoming the all-time hits leader at EKU, senior Richie Rodriguez continued his assault on the school record books on Sunday. The native of Miami, Fla., who was making his 203rd consecutive start at shortstop for the Colonels, scored the 190th and 191st run of his career in the game, breaking the all-time EKU runs scored record previously held by Adam Basil (1997-2000).

Rodriguez scored one of those runs in a five-run fifth inning for EKU that put the game out of contention. With the game tied 1-1 with one out in the top of the fifth, senior Dustin Dunlop started the rally by blasting an RBI double into left field that scored sophomore Bryan Soloman. After junior Alex Hughes popped out, sophomore Sean Hagen delivered a two-out double to center field, scoring both Dunlop and senior #A.J. Jamison# and making the score 4-1.

The Colonels, however, were not finished. Rodriguez then singled home Hagen and went to third on a base hit by junior Austin Grisham. The next batter, senior Jacob Daniel, reached on a throwing error by MSU third baseman Andrew Deeds, allowing Rodriguez to scamper home, tie the EKU runs scored record and give the Colonels a comfortable 6-1 advantage.

With Grimm dealing from the mound, EKU continued to pile on to that lead, plating three more runs in the top of the seventh. Rodriguez ignited that rally by drawing a leadoff walk and then going from first to third on another base hit by Grisham. The next batter, Daniel, ripped a single into left field, allowing Rodriguez to score and break the EKU runs record and sending Grisham to third. Soloman followed that up with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Grisham, and Jamison concluded the scoring for the day with a double to center field that plated Daniel and made it 9-1.

Daniel finished the day 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Jamison and Hagen both drove in two runs apiece in the win.

Drew Williams drove in the Eagles’ only run of the day with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the second.

EKU has this week off before travelling to UT Martin next weekend for another important conference series.