Racers Hold on to Beat Salukis in Dramatic Fashion

Sunday, April 27

Carbondale, IL

12 p.m.

Murray State

20-25, 10-13

Southern Illinois

29-18, 19-4

Murray State

Southern Illinois

4/27/2025 3:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

MSU Defeats SIU 5-4 in Series Finale

By: Charlie Williams

The Murray State Racers (20-25, 10-13 MVC) defeated the Southern Illinois Salukis (29-18, 19-4 MVC) 5-4 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon in Carbondale, Illinois.

With the win, the Racers improve their Missouri Valley Conference mark to 10-14 as they sit in ninth, one game behind Bradley. Southern Illinois remains atop the standings in first.

The Racers came out of the gate hot in the first and second innings. Katy Huels and Kenley Minor opened the contest with a pair of singles. Their fellow freshman, Hannah Sutton, sent them home with a two-run double. Bailey Broemmer kept things going in the following innings with her second home run of the season, a no-doubt homer to left field that pushed the lead to 4-0. Huels added one more run, scoring on a bunt from Parker Holcombe, before Southern Illinois responded with an Addi Baker home run to make it 5-1 after two innings.

The Salukis began to chip away at the Murray State lead in the fifth. Anna Carder doubled to left center to score a pair of runs before reliever Bre Haislip collected her first strikeout of the afternoon. SIU cut the deficit to just 5-4 in the following inning as Baker scored on an error following an Amanda Knutson single.

After the Navy & Gold were unable to add a run in the top of the seventh, the Salukis looked to be threatening with runners on second and third with two outs. After taking the first pitch for a strike, Mikaela Coburn hit a ground ball to shortstop Parker Holcombe and was initially called safe, however, the play was immediately put under review. After the review, it was determined that Holcombe's throw beat Coburn to first, and Hannah Sutton kept her foot on the base just long enough to get the final out and secure a Murray State win.

The Racer scored five runs on nine hits while committing three errors. The Salukis scored four runs on nine hits and did not commit an error.

Raylee Roby (6-3) was the winning pitcher, allowing five hits and three earned runs while striking out two in four and two-thirds innings. Bre Haislip got her second save of the year, allowing four hits and no earned runs while striking out two in one and two-thirds innings.

The top of the Racer lineup had a productive day as both Katy Huels and Kenley Minor went 3-4, and Huels scored a pair of runs while Minor scored one. Bailey Broemmer also put together a good day at the plate, going 2-3 with a two-run homer. Hannah Sutton added a pair of RBI with her first-inning double, and Parker Holcombe had one on a bunt.

Kiana McDowell (2-7) took the loss in the circle after giving up two earned runs in the first inning. Anna Carder was the Salukis' leader at the plate, going 3-4 with a pair of RBI.

Murray State is back on the road on Wednesday, April 30, for a midweek contest at Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Mo. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT.

Follow the Racers on Twitter (@MSURacers), Instagram (@RacersAthletics), and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Murray State Athletics. Follow Murray State softball on Twitter and Instagram (@RacersSoftball).