Former Caldwell County standout Shane Burns shut out Eastern Illinois on two hits through seven innings and the Murray State Racers went on to claim a 3-1 victory in Ohio Valley Conference action Saturday at Reagan Field in Murray.
The freshman left-hander was in control, striking out four and walking three in the contest. In five starts this season, Burns is now 2-1 and has lowered his earned run average to 3.38.
“Shane’s a super competitor when he gets out on the bump,” MSU head coach Dan Skirka told GoRacers.com. “His process is great, throws strikes, attacks hitters, really doesn’t look like a freshman when he’s out there, which is awesome.”
The Racers improve to 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the OVC, while EIU falls to 7-10 and 2-3 in conference play.
With Murray State as the road team in the contest, the Racers gave Burns some room to work with by scoring once in each of the first two innings.
The Panthers had their best chance to score off Burns in the fifth when they put a runner on third with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts by the freshman kept EIU off the board.
Murray State and Eastern Illinois will play again Sunday at 1 p.m. in Murray. The Panthers took the first game of the series 8-3 on Friday.