Lyke, Lebron Anchor 13 Strikeout Performance in Murray State’s 9-5 Victory

Tuesday, April 28

Murray, Ky.

1 p.m.

Murray State

27-18

Memphis

16-27

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

Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics

Lyke, Lebron Anchor 13 Strikeout Performance in Murray State’s 9-5 Victory

4/28/2026 6:14:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Sam Rhodes

MURRAY, Ky. - Led by strong situational hitting and a 13-strikeout performance from the pitching staff, Murray State baseball defeated Memphis 9-5 Tuesday at Johnny Reagan Field.

The Racers (27-18, 12-6 MVC) have now won four of their last six matchups against the Tigers under head coach Dan Skirka.

Ethan Lyke led the pitching staff with five strikeouts, tying his season high. Derek Lebron followed with a career-high four strikeouts, while Carter Boyd and Jack Wajda rounded out the performance with two apiece.

It always starts with pitching, Skirka said. Ethan Lyke did a fantastic job today just attacking and going deep into the start. That's what we've missed on Tuesdays lately.

Seven of the Racers' nine hits came from the bottom half of the order. Jackson McCoy, Colby Ott and Conner Cunningham each collected two hits, with Ott adding two RBIs. The performance marked McCoy's first multi-hit game of the season.

McCoy got on base twice to lead off innings, took a walk, was on the barrel, Skirka said. Just another case of getting an opportunity. Our outfielders are really good players and you wish you could play them all. ... I knew he'd be ready, a chance to get him in there and give the other guys a little break, and he performed well.

How It Happened

The Racers utilized small ball to ignite a three-run second inning. After Kainen Jorge and Cunningham singled to open the frame, Jake Slade drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run. McCoy followed with an RBI single to right, and Connor Chisolm capped the rally with a sacrifice fly.

Memphis (16-27, 8-10 AAC) stayed within striking distance throughout the afternoon, using the long ball to chip away at the lead, hitting two homers and a two-run triple to cut into the Racers' lead.

Murray State responded to every Memphis surge with disciplined situational hitting. In the fourth, Kingsley Guthrie doubled and scored on an Ott double, followed by another Chisolm sacrifice fly. The Racers extended the lead to 9-3 in the sixth when Luke Mistone reached on a fielder's choice to score McCoy, followed by Cunningham's sacrifice fly to center.

Wajda entered in the seventh and slammed the door, throwing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to secure the win and his first save of the season.