Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Western Illinois
Players Mentioned
Racers "Host" Leathernecks Beginning Sunday
2/23/2018 3:31:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 5-7
Murray State (1-3) vs. Western Illinois (0-3)
Feb. 25-26, 2018
First Pitch: Sunday: Noon and 3:30 p.m., Monday: 1 p.m.
Stadium: Rent One Park (Sunday) and Reagan Field (Monday)
Dimensions: 330 (LF) | 400 (CF) | 330 (RF)
Series History: Series is tied 1-1
Last Meeting: MSU 16, WIU 15 – March 17, 1999
Watch Live: OVC Digital Network (Monday only)
Live Stats: Game one | Game two | Game three
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The weather has altered MSU's first home series of 2018. The Racers and WIU will now play a doubleheader Sunday at Rent One Park in Marion, Ill., beginning at noon, while the series finale will be played at Reagan Field at 1 p.m., Monday. The Racers will now play nine of their next 10 contests at home.
Inside the Series
The Racers and Leathernecks will be meeting for the first time since 1999, the only other time in which the two teams have played. That two-game series was an offenisve showcase as WIU won game one 15-14 while MSU took the finale 16-15. Both games were played in Murray.
Rain, Rain, Go Away
This series was originally intended to be played Friday-Sunday all at Reagan Field, but due to the amount of rain Murray has gotten this week, the series has been shifted to Rent One Park in Marion, Ill., for a Sunday doubleheader while Monday's finale will be back at Reagan Field.
Scouting Western Illinois
WIU opened 2018 losing three games at Middle Tennessee. The Leathernecks hit .278 for the series and averaged just over three runs per game at MTSU.
Grant Hannant is hitting a team-best .571 in just seven at-bats while Steve McShane, Johnathan Fleek and Dillon Sears are all hitting .400 or better. Deion Thompson has a team-best two RBIs in 2018 and along with McShane, has a team-leading two stolen bases. Three Leathernecks lead the squad with a pair of runs scored.
Ian Koch had the best start over the weekend for WIU, going six strong innings and allowing just one earned run off three hits while striking out seven batters. Out of the bullpen, Colan Borchers, Jack Carberry and Pete Minella all of clean appearances in a combined 3.1 innings of work. WIU has a team ERA of 7.88 in just three contests.
Ryan Brownlee is in his fifth season as the head man at Western Illinois. The Leathernecks play their first 14 games of 2018 on the road.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game one: Trevor McMurray (RHP) (0-1, 8.31 ERA) vs. Ian Koch (RHP) (0-1, 1.50 ERA)
Game two: Peyton Hayes (RHP) (0-0, 8.31 ERA) vs. Ryan Dunne (0-1, 9.64 ERA)
Game three: Blake Clynes (LHP) (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Javin Drake (0-1, 27.00 ERA)
