Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Players Mentioned
MSU Opens OVC Play, Alters Schedule
3/10/2016 5:16:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 15-17
Murray State (6-8) at UT Martin (4-9)
March 11-13, 2016
First Pitch: Friday: 12 p.m., Saturday: 11 a.m., Sunday: 1 p.m.
Series History: MSU leads 67-31
Last Meeting: MSU 3, UTM 14 – April 28, 2015
Venue: Skyhawk Field (Capacity: 500)
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 385 (CF), 330 (RF)
Live Stats: Game one | Game two | Game three
Listen Live: mixlr.com/racers (Sunday)
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers begin conference play in the midst of their season-long six-game road trip as they travel to UT Martin for a three-game set. Both teams are coming off non-conference losses earlier this week as MSU lost at Kentucky Wednesday and the Skyhawks lost to Evansville Tuesday. The Racers have lost 4-of-5.
Schedule Change
Due to forecasted inclement weather in Martin, Friday's series opener has been moved up to a noon start. The rest of the weekend's schedule is the same as of now, for more updates continue to check GoRacers.com for details.
Inside the Series
The Racers and Skyhawks split last season's four meetings, all at neutral locations. MSU took 2-of-3 in the OVC series that was played in Edwardsville, Ill., due to weather in Murray, while UTM took a non-conference tilt later in the season in Union City, Tenn. The Racers are 2-3 in their last five against UTM after winning six straight in the series.
Lawrence Named to Bench Award Watch List
Junior catcher Tyler Lawrence has been named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, given annually to the top catcher in Division I. Lawrence, who is one of 75 on the list, is hitting .368 this season with four home runs and 18 RBIs. Lawrence has also scored 10 runs and drawn nine walks on the year. Lawrence was also named to the watch list in 2015.
Scouting UT Martin
The Skyhawks are led this season by Mike Murphy's .385 batting average. Murphy, Josh Hauser and Austin Taylor lead UTM with 15 hits each while Matt Hirsch has a team-best 13 runs scored. Daniel Kerwin and Tanner Wessling lead UT Martin with 10 RBIs each. Kerwin and Wessling, along with Collin Edwards and Ryan Helgren lead the squad with two home runs each. As a team, the Skyhawks are hitting .291.
Dalton Westfall has been UTM's top starter this season, going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 16.1 innings of work. Alex Evans leads the team with 19.1 innings. Dom Bazzani has a team-high 16 strikeouts on the year. Patrick Bernard is tied for the team lead with Westfall with two wins in 2016. The Skyhawks have a team ERA of 7.91. UT Martin is led by second-year Head Coach Rick Robinson.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: Jack Hranec (L) (2-1, 3.77 ERA) vs. Alex Evans (R) (0-2, 4.66 ERA)
Saturday: John Lollar (R) (2-0, 4.11 ERA) vs. Dom Bazzani (L) (0-3, 7.36 ERA)
Sunday: Ryan Dills (R) (0-0, 7.00 ERA) vs. Jake Patzner (R) (0-1, 17.47 ERA)
In the Mix
Select Murray State baseball away games will once again be broadcast this season on the internet via Mixlr. Fans can listen, free of charge, on any computer at mixlr.com/msuracers or by downloading the Mixlr app, available on Apple and Android devices, and searching msuracers. Sunday's game will be broadcast by MSU baseball media relations contact, Kevin DeVries.
