MURRAY, Ky. (5-13-2008) ? Arkansas State (20-31-1) broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Murray State Thoroughbreds (20-28) 5-2 Tuesday afternoon at Johnny Reagan Field in the final road game of the 2008 season.  Senior shortstop Ryan Hudgins had three hits and two RBI's to lead the Indian offense on the day, while junior Jett Jones picked up the win on the mound, scattering eight hits and striking out seven over seven and two-thirds innings.

The combination of junior Brandon Eller and Hudgins put the Tribe on top twice in the early going.  Eller singled in the first and scored on a base hit to shallow center field from Hudgins to put ASU on the board before Murray State countered with a run in the bottom of the second.  An RBI single from Thoroughbred first baseman Taylor Thieke evened the score at 1-1 before Eller and Hudgins went to work again in the third.

Eller got on base with a one-out double before coming home on another single from Hudgins to give the Tribe a 2-1 advantage, but Murray State answered again to tie the score in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from third baseman Cory Hodskins.

Arkansas State broke the 2-2 deadlock in the eighth when Eller walked and scored when junior Guy Brown reached on a fielder's choice.  Brown took advantage of a passed ball and a wild pitch to score and extend the ASU lead to 4-2, and junior Lawson Hipps scored on a fielder's choice from freshman Murray Watts to stretch the Arkansas State lead to 5-2.

Murray State got the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but sophomore Jordan Kimball came on in relief Jones and struck out Thieke to record the final out of the frame.  Kimball struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

In addition to Hudgins' three hits, the Tribe also got two hits each from Eller and freshmen Todd Baumgartner and Danny Riemenschneider.

The Indians will wrap up the season later this week with a Thursday-Friday-Saturday Sun Belt Conference series against in-state rival Arkansas-Little Rock.  The Thursday and Friday games are scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m., with Saturday's season finale set for 2 p.m.