With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Murray State trailing Indiana State by a run, Miguel Jorge singled to load the bases, then watched the next pitch sail over his head. He swung at the one after that and drove it into the right-centre gap.
Two runs scored. The Racers won 5-4. The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, which had looked like it might end Murray State's season in the quarterfinals, moved them into the semifinals instead.
Jorge, a junior second baseman from Tampa, had entered the at-bat 1-for-4 with a strikeout. He said he was not thinking about the situation. "I was thinking about the ball," he said. "That's it."
The win sets up a semifinal matchup against top-seeded Dallas Baptist, who dispatched Southern Illinois earlier in the day. Murray State went 36-20 in the regular season and earned the tournament's three seed, a position that requires them to beat at least two opponents to reach the championship game and earn the conference's automatic NCAA bid.
Starting pitcher Conner Hall threw six innings and allowed three runs on six hits. The bullpen held Indiana State scoreless for three innings before the dramatic finish made relievers irrelevant. Closer Drew Patterson, who earned the save, said he had never heard CFSB Center that loud. "Not for baseball," he added.
Murray State last reached the MVC championship game in 2022. Whether Jorge's double marks the beginning of another run or the high point of the week depends entirely on what Dallas Baptist decides to do tomorrow afternoon.