JONESBORO, Ark. (4-16-2008) ? Three first-inning runs proved to be just enough as the Arkansas State Indians (16-21) defeated the Thoroughbreds of Murray State 3-2 in a non-conference matchup Wednesday night at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field.
Six ASU pitchers combined to hold Murray State (12-19) to seven singles on the night, with senior Pete Pasternak getting the win. Junior Nick Lambert earned his fifth save of the season after closing out the game in the ninth. Lambert had to work after giving up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases, but struck out two of the final three batters to put the game in the books.
“We threw the ball well tonight and we felt like we had a good plan coming in,” said ASU Head Coach Keith Kessinger. “We thought we would use a bunch of guys so that nobody would see anyone more than one time. We felt like that would give us a good opportunity to win tonight and to get ready for the weekend, because all of those guys will need to throw (against Western Kentucky in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference series).”
Arkansas State scored all three first-inning runs with two outs on the board. The Indians got RBI singles from junior second baseman Brandon Eller and junior catcher Lawson Hipps, along with a run-scoring double from junior third baseman Guy Brown.
The Thoroughbreds managed to load the bases with no outs in the third but settled for a single run when the Tribe turned a double play on a ground-out by third baseman Tyler Owen. Shortstop Kyle Tiernan scored from third on the play to put Murray State on the board, and ASU reliever Jordan Torr got first baseman Andrew Cella to ground out to end the inning.
An RBI single from Murray State designated hitter Wes Cunningham in the fifth cut the Indian lead to 3-2, but the Tribe kept the Thoroughbreds off of the board in the final four innings to get the win.
Pasternak (1-0) gave up no runs on one hit, with three strikeouts and a walk in two innings of work. Junior Anthony Stacy (1-2) took the loss for Murray State. Stacy gave up all three of ASU's runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six.
