Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky baseball team celebrated the official grand opening of Earle Combs Stadium with a 7-6, 13-inning victory over Austin Peay on Friday night.
 
The team has posted a 14-3 record since beginning play in the new stadium on March 4, but the official grand opening ceremonies were held on Friday.  Members of the Combs family joined Eastern Kentucky University President Michael T. Benson, Director of Athletics Stephen Lochmueller, Head Coach Edwin Thompson and representatives from Murphy Group Architects, Codell Construction, EKU Capital Construction and the Kentucky Finance Department on the field for the opening ceremony.
 
Nick Howie started the bottom of the 13th inning with a single to third.  He moved to third base on back-to-back ground outs.  Alex Holderbach beat out a ground ball to second and Howie scored the game-winner.
 
Ben Fisher's two-out, RBI single to right in the bottom of the ninth tied the game, 6-6.
 
"What an awesome crowd here for our grand opening," Thompson said.  "Nixon was outstanding offensively, coming through with big hits when we needed them.  Our bullpen was phenomenal tonight, only giving up one run over 11 innings of work.  Max Ford got the job done when we needed him to."
 
Austin Peay (15-18, 7-10 OVC) grabbed the lead quickly on Dre Gleason's three-run home run in the top of the first inning.  Eastern closed the gap in the bottom of the inning when Cornell Nixon hit a solo home run over the wall in right center. 
 
Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Eastern platted a pair of runs to cut the deficit in half.  Alex Holderbach drew a bases loaded walk to force in the first run.  Brenden Overton scored later in the inning on a fielder's choice to make it 5-3.
 
The Colonels (21-14, 7-7 OVC) got within a run on Nixon's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, but the Governors answered in the top of the eighth to push it back to a two run lead, 6-4.  Eastern came right back and closed within one again on a ground ball by Logan Starnes in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Nixon finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs.  Holderbach had two hits in five at bats, scored one and drove in two.  Max Ford fired four and one-third innings of scoreless relief.  He allowed just one run and struck out six. 
 
Gleason went 3-for-6 with a run and four RBIs for APSU.
 
The two teams will conclude their three game series on Saturday at 1 p.m.