MURRAY, Ky. – The Milwaukee baseball team bounced back with a 3-2 victory in game two of a non-conference doubleheader on Friday, knocking off the Murray State Racers. Earlier in the day Murray State won the opener by an identical 3-2 score.
 
"Both games today were clean and well played," said head coach Scott Doffek post game.
 
Riley Frey got the start in the opener and tossed six innings and struck out three batters as he did not factor into the decision. Luke Hansel improved to 3-0 in game two as he went six innings and struck out seven while yielding just one earned run.
 
Nate DeYoung led the team with three hits on the day including a double and scored two runs, he also got the save in game two with a three-strikeout inning.
 
Tommy Benson led the Panthers with four RBIs at the plate as he had two extra-base hits with a two-run triple in game two after a two-run home run in the opener.
 
Mark Connelly also had two hits on the day with an RBI, while Marcus Cline and Justin Hausser had one hit and scored a run apiece. Ty Olejnik had a single and stole a base, as Milwaukee was 4-for-4 on the base paths with Connelly swiping one bag and Cline leading the team with two stolen bases on the day.
 
Game One Summary
"Riley [Frey] did a good job of minimizing and keeping us in it," Doffek noted. "It was not a good day to hit today so it came down to two-out hitting. Unfortunately, we couldn't get that done enough throughout the game."
 
It was a pitcher's duel throughout as Frey went inning-for-inning with the Murray State starter.
 
Milwaukee got two runners on in the first with a walk and an error and got one baserunner on in the third via walk but were unable to capitalize.
 
Frey made his way through the Racer lineup once but ran into trouble in the fourth a leadoff single was followed by a triple to put Murray State up by one. Three batters later a double plated the second Racer run to put the home team up a pair after four innings.

After scoreless innings for both sides in the fifth and sixth, the Panthers came up in the top of the seventh. The first two batters for MKE went down by strikeout as DeYoung followed with a two-out double. Up next was Benson, who hit one over the fence in right field to tie the game at two.
 
Johnny Kelliher came on for Frey in the bottom of the seventh and retired the Racers in order, and after getting the leadoff batter in the eight allowed the next two to walk. Sam Mathews came on and allowed one inherited runner to score the game-winning run as Murray State opened the day with the victory.
 
Game Two Summary
"Game two was very similar in the outing that Luke [Hansel] gave us while making some huge pitches at the right time", said Doffek on his game two starter. "[Tommy] Benson came up and delivered when were down to help us steal that victory. DeYoung was just outstanding again to close it out."
 
Milwaukee fell behind in the bottom of the first inning as Murray State scored a run in the opening inning, as Hansel stranded three runners on base over the first two innings.
 
In the top of the third Cline reached on an infield single and then stole second, Connelly followed up with a run-scoring single into center to even the score as Cline crossed home plate.
 
The Racers regained the lead in the bottom of the third with a solo home run to take a 2-1 advantage.
 
Hansel locked down the next two innings against the Racers to bring the Panthers back up to bat in the top of the sixth.
 
Hausser singled with one down in the top of the sixth followed by another single by DeYoung. Benson was up next and tripled to right field to chase home the pair and give the Panthers their first lead of the game.
 
Hansel allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth but relied on the defense to turn a pair with the next batter. The Milwaukee starter struck out his last batter of the game looking to send the game to the seventh in line for the win.
 
After Milwaukee went down in the seventh, DeYoung came on to pitch and struck out the side to secure the win and notch his fifth save of the season while giving Milwaukee win number seven on the year.
 
Up Next
Milwaukee and Murray State will wrap up the three-game series on Saturday afternoon with first pitch slated for 12 p.m. from Johnny Reagan Field in Kentucky.