Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Middle Tennessee
Five Run Fourth Inning Powers Racers over Middle Tennessee
3/17/2026 7:43:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Led by a five-run fourth inning and a staff effort from eight pitchers, the Racers defeated Middle Tennessee on Tuesday, avenging a previous midweek loss to the Blue Raiders.
All runs for Murray State (13-8) came in the fourth inning, sparked by three consecutive singles from Connor Chisolm, Luke Mistone, and Kristofer Hokenson. Hokenson's hit put the Racers' first run on the board.
Anthony Perritano drove in two more with a single up the middle, scoring Hokenson and Kainen Jorge. Colby Ott capped the rally with a double down the left-field line to drive in two more. Ott's double was the only extra-base hit of the day for Murray State.
"Well, the wind was blowing in," head coach Dan Skirka said, "and as a hitter you know that. So we knew we had to stay on the barrel and stay on a line and string some hits together; we weren't going to hit the ball out of the ballpark. So, I was proud of them for that, and we executed two bunt hits, which is huge."
The Racers used eight arms throughout the afternoon, with Dylan Zentko making his first start of the year. Zentko set the tone with a scoreless first inning, while Hokenson and Parker Patterson completed the first four innings to keep Middle Tennessee (12-9) off the board.
Ethan Lyke, Jack Wajda, and Jackson Ugo each made appearances on the mound, allowing one run apiece. Logan Smothers earned his second win of the 2026 campaign, tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief and striking out two.
"We got the leadoff guy out eight out of nine times," Skirka said. "So it's tough to rally for an offense when they don't get that leadoff guy on base. We minimized the freebies; we only had four walks. So, for eight guys to go out there and piece together a three-run game, it's phenomenal."
Murray State looks to carry the momentum into the weekend as Missouri Valley Conference play begins with a series against Valparaiso in Evansville.
Box Score Notes
Kristofer Hokenson extended his team-leading reached base streak to 14 … Anthony Perritano recorded his third multi-hit game and his third multi-RBI game of the season … Just the second road win at MTSU since 1996 … Most Pitchers used in a game this season … Racers move to 3-2 in midweek matchups
