Murray State
Southeast Missouri
Racers Split Double Header With Southeast Missouri
4/18/2010 12:15:00 AM | Softball
The Murray State softball team split a double header with Southeast Missouri State at Racer Field at Murray-Calloway County Park. The Racers (14-24, 6-9 OVC) earned a 9-1 victory in five innings in the opening game and then dropped a 9-6 decision in the second game.
Junior Lauren Buch tallied a team-best four hits and recorded two RBIs, while freshman Megan Glosser added three hits and two RBIs. Junior Jenna Bradley and freshman Ellyn Troup led the team with three RBIs each.
"We had really good at-bats in the first game," said head coach Jay Pyron. "We chose good pitches to swing at and didn't get ourselves out by chasing out of the zone and it showed on the scoreboard."
All four of the pitchers on the MSU staff saw action in the circle and all recorded at least one strike out. Freshmen Starr Gilley and Shelby Kosmecki each garnered three strike outs, while sophomore Chelsey Sullivan added two and junior Kristen Broadway earned one. Broadway earned the victory in the opening game, moving to 7-5 on the season.
Game 1 - Murray State 9, Southeast Missouri 1 (5)
The Racers started the game off with strong defense, holding the Redhawks (14-23, 5-11 OVC) scoreless in the top of the first. MSU then added three runs to the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Freshman Megan Belio started the offense off by walking and then advanced to second when Glosser hit a single toward third base. Two batters later Troup hit a single up the middle to score Belio. Freshman Kaitlyn Engalnd then drew the walk to load the bases. With two outs Buch hit a single to left center that allowed two more runs to score to give the Racers a 3-0 advantage.
MSU kept up the strong defense, not allowing SEMO to score in the top of the second. The Racers then pushed their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second. Belio started the offense again with a single to right center. Glosser followed with a walk and both were scored when Troup hit a double to left field.
The Redhawks went three-up three-down in the third and MSU increased its lead to nine in the bottom of the third. Junior Stephanie Mattocks walked and Buch singled just over the short stops head. The bases were loaded when freshman Christian Cox laid down a bunt single toward third. Junior Taylor Wilson was called out on an infield fly call to give the Racers two outs. Belio then drew a walk to score one and keep the bases loaded. Glosser hit a single to short to score a second run and keep the bases loaded for Bradley. The Trilla, Ill., native added wo more runs for MSU by hitting a single to left field. That gave the Racers a 9-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
The Redhawks saw their first scoring chance in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded after a hit and two walks. However Broadway struck out one batter and a routine ball to Mattocks at third resulted in the third out without a run crossing the plate.
SEMO was able to score one run in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 9-1, but it was not enough to erase the eight-run rule after five innings and the Racers took the victory.
Game 2 - Southeast Missouri 9, Murray State 6
The Redhawks came out swinging right away in the second game and tallied five runs in the first three innings. SEMO scored two each in the first and third and a single run in the second.
The Racers held the Redhawks to no runs in the fourth, but they added two more in the top of the fifth, before MSU started a come back in the bottom of the inning. The Racers tallied one run in the fifth when Belio started the offense off with a single through the gap between third and short. She then stole second and was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Glosser. Bradley brought her in with a single to center field.
SEMO added two more runs in the top of the sixth, before MSU scored four runs to cut the deficit to four runs, 9-5.
Mattocks, Cox and Wilson were all walked to load the basses and then an error by the first baseman allowed two runs to score. Glosser added a run to the board when she hit a single to left field and the bases were again loaded when Bradley walked. The final run of the inning crossed on a wild pitch.
The Racers defense held strong in the top of the seventh and then the team went to work again at the plate in the bottom of the inning to try and erase the lead that the Redhawks still owned. Mattocks doubled to left field and was advanced to third on another sacrifice by Glosser. Cox and Wilson were again walked to load the basses. Belio then drew a walk to score Mattocks from third, but that was all the offense that MSU could get.
The Racers and the Redhawks will conclude the series Sunday, April 18 at 1 p.m. at Racer Field. MSU will then travel to SIU Edwardsville for a double header, Tuesday, April 20.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Pyron
" Kristen Broadway is a solid pitcher. We look for her to throw the ball where she wants it to go and let the defense do the rest of the work."
"I am really proud of the way my team has been able to come from behind lately. We have been able to stay confident and look for opportunities to make things happen. We got some of those opportunities today and found a way to take advantage of them. We fell short because we dug too deep of a whole early in the game."
"I felt like we are pushing through to the end of the game. We didn't get too thrown off by getting in the whole and were still able to make a run, but fell just a little short."
"I fell like or batting order is working well with Megan Belio and Megan Glosser at the top. They are both finding ways to get on base and create opportunities for our hitters to get runs in."
