Miles went three-up, three-down in their first crack offensively, sending McDonald right back on the mound. He gave up a lead-off single but got the next hitter to ground into a double play to quickly get two outs. Kentucky State, however, starting stringing together quality at bat after quality at bat and sent home eight runs before the third out was recorded.  

Aram Kumar singled and advanced to third after a single by Jared Pierce. Saylor then stepped up and hit an RBI single to left field, bringing in Kumar. Higgs drew a walk to load the bases, but those bases were cleared with a three-run double by Chambers. The four-run flurry from the Thorobreds put Kentucky State on top 5-0 and prompted a pitching change for the Golden Bears.  

The pitching change did not slow down Kentucky State at the plate. Arden Thompson drew a walk to put runners on first and second and that was followed by a run-scoring single by Roby Schank to make it 6-0. Byron Famble got his second hit of the inning to again load the bases. Daniel Moore continued the scoring binge by drawing a walk to bring in Kentucky State’s seventh run, then Kumar, up again, singled to center field to bring in another two runs and make it 9-0.  

Miles was still unable to find their offense in the early going. They’d find it eventually, but not before Kentucky State extended their lead to 10-0 following another bases-loaded walk drawn by Moore in the top of the third inning.  

The Golden Bears finally got on the board in the bottom half of the third inning. Kody Long hit a double to right center field and then came round to score on a James Bitner single to get Miles on the scoreboard.  

Miles scored again in the sixth inning with Max Davenport scoring from third on a wild pitch, and then the Golden Bears added another run with Davenport driving in Michael Archie to bring the score to 10-3.  

Kentucky State picked up an insurance run in the top of the eighth with Thompson driving in Saylor with a two-out single. 

Miles trailed 11-3 with six outs left, but they made their three outs in the bottom of the eighth inning count. The Golden Bears drew a pair of one-out walks, putting runners on first and second base, then Long doubled to left field to score Peyton Caron from second base. Bitner hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Eli Snelson, and then Bisharat singled to drive in Long and keep the rally alive. Bisharat moved into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch, which then allowed him to score on an Archie double later in the at-bat. When the dust settled following the third out, Miles had cut their deficit in half, trailing by just four runs heading into the final inning.  

The Thorobreds had the first three batters of the top of the ninth inning reach base, with Kumar’s single bringing in Famble to pad Kentucky State’s lead. Miles led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, needing a mini miracle to erase their 12-7 deficit, but three of the next four batters were retired and the game ended with a 12-7 Kentucky State win.  

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