Murray State senior Jacob Rhodes delivered a bases-clearing double into the right-field corner in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a tie ballgame and give the Breds a 7-3 victory over #2 Kentucky Tuesday evening in front of 1,379 fans at Brooks Stadium.  It was the highest ranked opponent the Breds have beaten in school history.

The inning started harmlessly as the first two hitters were retired.  Colton  Speed fouled off six-straight pitches before blooping a single into center field.  Ty Stetson and Paul Ritzheimer followed with back-to-back walks, before Rhodes ripped the 0-1 pitch to right field.  Mike Kozlowski followed by scoring Rhodes with a single to right field.

The Breds (23-30) got on the board in the second inning as Kozlowski walked, Brandon Eggenschwiler blooped a single to left and Noah Zipko walked to load the bases.  Dylan Wheeler delivered an RBI single to center field, before Stetson drew a two-out walk to score the second run.

The Wildcats (41-12) took advantage of a fielding error in the fourth to tie the game.  Austin Cousino started the inning by reaching on a two-base fielding error by the first baseman.  Two batters later, Luke Maile delivered a two-run home run to right center.

UK took the lead in the fifth as Matt Reida started a two-out rally with a slow roller to second.  After a walk to Cousino, Brian Adams delivered an RBI double to left field.

MSU got the run back in the home-half of the inning as Eggenschwiler singled to right field with two outs.  Zipko followed with a fly ball to deep left center that was dropped, allowed Eggenschwiler to score from first.

Will Handlin (5-3) earned the victory after allowing three hits in two scoreless innings.  The Breds pitched by committee, with Byran Babin, Luke Shuemaker and Tyler Beers tossing a shutout inning, while Mark Roberts and Handlin tossed two shutout frames.  A.J. Reed (4-2) took the loss after allowing one run on three hits over three innings.

Eggenschwiler led the offense by going 3-for-5, while Corey Bays added a pair of hits.  Stetson drew a pair of walks to raise his season total to 52, tieing Jack Perconte for second on the single-season list.

The Breds return to action Thursday afternoon as they begin a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Eastern Kentucky.  First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Reagan Field.

From: GoRacers.com.