Jorge’s Walk-Off Single Completes Five-Run Comeback, Series Sweep of Illinois State

Sunday, April 19

Murray, Ky.

1 p.m.

Murray State

23-16, 10-5

Illinois State

23-17, 6-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Illinois St.	0	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	9	2
Murray St.	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	2	6	9	0

Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics

Jorge’s Walk-Off Single Completes Five-Run Comeback, Series Sweep of Illinois State

4/19/2026 5:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Sam Rhodes

MURRAY, Ky. – Kainen Jorge lined a two-out, walk-off single up the middle in the ninth inning to cap a five-run comeback as Murray State completed a series sweep of Illinois State with a 6-5 victory Sunday at Johnny Reagan Field.

The Racers (24-16, 10-5 MVC) scored six unanswered runs after falling behind 5-0 in the sixth inning. The victory marks Murray State's third sweep of a Missouri Valley Conference opponent this season.

"It felt great," Jorge said. "The whole weekend I've been struggling a little bit. I was just trying to take it one at-bat at a time. You get into a game like that, I went 0-for-my-first-3, you just want that next at-bat. I was all ready for it, it felt great".

Trailing 5-4 entering the ninth, pinch hitter Tyler Butina sparked the rally with a leadoff walk. Colby Ott followed with a single to right field to put the winning run on base. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Illinois State (22-17, 6-9 MVC) opted to intentionally walk Luke Mistone to load the bases. Jorge then stepped up with two outs and delivered the game-winning hit to score Ott and pinch-runner Brady Grabowski.

Illinois State initially jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning with a three-run home run to right-center. The Redbirds extended the margin to 5-0 in the top of the sixth following an RBI walk and a sacrifice fly from.

Murray State responded immediately in the bottom half of the sixth with four runs. Mistone got the Racers on the board with an RBI single, one of his game-high three hits, while Conner Cunningham and Daylan Pena each drove in runs with groundouts. Jake Slade capped the burst with a two-out RBI single to third base, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Ben Rosin (2-1) earned the win in relief, tossing 2.1 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball to keep the Racers within reach.

"The guys really turned it on there halfway through the game, and just started competing the way they are capable of," Murray State head coach Dan Skirka said. "The energy picked up, and I think they're learning you're never out of a game, and when they come with that kind of process, they can beat anybody".

The erasure of the five-run deficit stands as the largest comeback and the first walk-off win of the 2026 season for Murray State.

The Racers will travel to Oxford on Tuesday to face Ole Miss in a midweek matchup. The contest marks Murray State's first return to Oxford since winning the 2025 Oxford Regional.

Box Score Notes

First MVC team to 10 conference wins … First walk-off win since May 21, 2025 vs. Belmont … First time overcoming a deficit of 5 runs in a win since March 7, 2021 vs. Western Illinois … Luke Mistone notched his 19^th multi-hit game of the season … Murray State is currently T1 in the MVC, alongside Indiana State and Evansville … Connor Chisolm's two-hit day was his ninth multi-hit performance of the season … Second-ever sweep over Illinois State, first at home in matchup history … MSU moves to 7-3 in last 10 matchups vs. Illinois State …. The Racers move to 9-3 against Illinois State in conference matchups.