Eastern Kentucky University won the opening game of its baseball series against Austin Peay on May 8, with Dylan Littlefield driving in three runs to secure a 5-2 victory.
The result is important for the Colonels, who improved their conference record and gained momentum as the series continues. The win was marked by key performances both at bat and on the mound.
With the score tied at two in the seventh inning, Boone Shevey led off with a double and later scored on Pedro Moreno’s single. Littlefield then hit an RBI double to right field, followed by scoring himself on Khaleel Pratt’s single combined with an error from Austin Peay. This sequence capped a three-run inning that put Eastern Kentucky ahead for good.
Littlefield finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Moreno contributed three hits in five at bats along with a run and an RBI, while Shevey went 1-for-3 and scored twice. EKU starter Hayden Collins allowed two runs over four-and-a-third innings before Bradley Gagen, Griffin Howell, and Gavin Faulkner combined for four-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless relief work. Faulkner earned his first save by striking out the only batter he faced to end the game.
Austin Peay took an early lead through Kyler Proctor’s solo home run but saw it erased when Littlefield hit a two-out, two-run homer in the third inning. Proctor ended up going 2-for-3 with two walks for Austin Peay.
The teams will meet again Saturday evening for game two of their series.
