Softball Goes To SIUE; Schedule Changed

Date (Times): Mar. 14 & 15 (3 p.m. & 12 p.m. DH)
Site (Venue): Edwardsville, Ill. (Cougar Field)
Audio: None
Video: OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersSoftball
MSU Record (Streak): 12-5 (W5)
All-Time Series vs. SIUE (Streak): Series tied 8-8 (L1)
MSU Next Games: Mar. 17 vs. #14 Kentucky
MSU Next Home: Mar. 17 vs. #14 Kentucky

This Week (Schedule Update)
After a week off, the Racers return to the diamond this week to play in the OVC. MSU will travel to Edwardsville, Illinois for their first conference games of the season to take on defending OVC champions SIUE. The series will now consist of one game on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at Noon.

Last Time Out
The Racers swept the makeshift Sand Dollar Snow Classic with a 4-0 record last week, after the Racers' original destination, the Tennessee Classic, was canceled. Murray State picked up two wins over Wright State, as well as Alabama A&M and Bradley. MSU outscored its opposition 34-4 on the week and notched two shutouts.
Jessica Twaddle led the Racers with six runs on seven hits with seven RBIs a double a home run, while Maggie Glass has six runs on five hits with seven RBIs a double and three home runs. Pitchers CheyAnne Gaskey and Mason Robinson each went 2-0 with 0.00 ERA in Gulf Shores.
Gaskey limited opponents to a .143 average with six strikeouts and a combined shutout, while Robinson turned in a .160 opponent's average with four strikeouts and a solo shutout over two complete games.

Against SIUE
Murray State and SIUE will enter Saturday tied at eight games each in the series. The Racers had been perfect against the Cougars since Kara Amundson's arrival as head coach, winning all four meetings, but that streak was snapped at the end of last season in the worst possible way. SIUE topped MSU, 12-1 in six innings, in the championship game of last season's OVC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Regional. Heading into the weekend, the Racers lead the series at Cougar Field, 4-3, and have won each of the last three contests in Edwardsville.

Scouting The Cougars
The Cougars will enter the weekend with the best record in the OVC at 16-5 after going 6-1 in Florida over the past week. SIUE saw its seven-game win streak come to a close on Tuesday when it fell in its final game in the Sunshine State, losing 3-0 at Florida Gulf Coast.

Junior Haley Chambers led the way for her team last week by going 3-0 with a 0.31 ERA over 22.1 innings. In addition to allowing just one earned run over three-plus games, she also fanned 32 batters, while walking just four, for an 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At the plate, she was equally as impressive by going 7-for-16 for a .438 average with four RBIs, two runs, a triple and a stolen base over five games.

SIUE is currently batting .272 as a team and slugging for .420, averaging two-plus extra base hits per game. Chambers leads the Cougar offense with a .400 average, four home runs and 15 RBIs, while Allison Smiley leads in RBIs with 19 to go along with three doubles, a triple and two home runs.

In the circle, SIUE has posted a team ERA of 1.76 while limiting opponents to a .213 average and striking out 8.5 batters per seven innings. Chambers is also leading the MSU pitching staff at 10-2 on the year, with a 1.24 ERA and 114 strikeouts or 10.1 per game.

Double The Fun
For the second time this season, the Racers swept the OVC weekly awards on March 2 with Jessica Twaddle being named as Player of the Week and Mason Robinson earning her second straight Pitcher of the week honor. Twaddle hit an impressive .538 on the week, by going 7-for-13. She turned in six runs on the week with a double and a home run for a slugging percentage of .846. Robinson, meanwhile, went 2-0 in two complete games, including a shutout, over 14.0 innings for the week. She allowed just four hits in each game, limiting opponents to a .160 average.

Starting The Second Season
The Racers are 2-3 all-time in OVC openers and have not won one since 2012. However, despite being 0-2 in league opening games at home, they are 2-1 on the road, winning at Tennessee State in 2010 and 2012.

Next Up
The Racer will make their home debut on Tuesday on against 14^th-ranked Kentucky. The doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m., with the second game immediately following.

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Players Mentioned

CheyAnne Gaskey

Maggie Glass

Mason Robinson

Jessica Twaddle

Murray State University