MIDWAY, Ky. -- The Midway University baseball team returned to River States Conference play on Friday afternoon when they opened a three-game series with Point Park (Pa.) at Tracy Farmer – Don Ball Stadium.
Trailing 2-0, the Eagles tied the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Pioneers responded by scoring nine unanswered runs over the final four innings as they won game one of the three-game set with the 11-2 victory.
Following the loss, Midway falls to 10-20 overall and 9-9 in league play, while Point Park – who is in the 'receiving votes' portion of the top-25 poll – improves to 27-9 overall and 14-5 in conference play following the win.
Following a pair of scoreless innings, the Pioneers broke the scoreless tie by scoring single runs in the third and fourth innings.
After leaving the bases loaded in the third, the Eagles finally got on the board with two runs in the fifth thanks to a big fly from Ryan Davis and a key two-out error by the Pioneer defense.
With two outs, Max Hill (Stockholm, Sweden) reached second on an errant throw by the third baseman as Davis stepped to the dish. The sophomore from Paris, Ky. clubbed the 2-1 pitch hitting it over the right field fence for his fifth home run of the season tying the game at 2-2.
The tie game was short lived after the Pioneers scored five in the sixth, one in the eighth and three in the ninth as they held on for the 11-2 victory. Midway had their chances as they left 11 runners on base, which included leaving the bases loaded in the third and sixth innings.
The Eagles threw five different arms with Skylar Lucas (Elizabethtown, Ky.) getting the start. He was dealt with the loss allowing seven runs – five earned – on nine hits in his 5.2 innings. John Davis (Princeton, Ky.), meanwhile, followed Lucas and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.
John Ivey (Independence, Ky.) got one out in the eighth allowing one run and Blake Samons (Danville, Ky.) allowed an unearned run in his 0.2 innings, while Andrew Stefaniak (Lexington, Ky.) got the final three outs allowing two runs.
Offensively, Ryan Davis led the way going 2-for-2 with two RBI's and a run, while he walked in his other three at bats reaching base five times in the loss. Four other Eagles added one hit apiece.
The two squads will wrap up their series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon ET at Tracy Farmer – Don Ball Stadium. Senior Day festivities will take place between games.
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