Dates & Time: April 28 – 12 p.m. (DH) & April 30 – 1 p.m. (DH)
Opponents: Tennessee St. (4/28) & Belmont (4/30)
Sites (Venues): Charleston, Ill. (Williams Field) & Edwardsville, Ill. (Cougar Field)
Audio: None
TV/Web Stream: OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MSU Record (Streak): 33-14, 9-5 OVC (Won 5)
EIU Record (Streak): 25-17, 9-3 OVC (Won 1)
All-Time Series vs. EIU (Streak): EIU leads 16-9 (Lost 2)
SIUE Record (Streak): 35-10, 10-4 OVC (Lost 2)
All-Time Series vs. SIUE (Streak): SIUE leads 13-10 (Won 1)
MSU Next Game: Apr. 26 at Eastern Ill., 1 p.m. (DH)
MSU Next Home Games: 2018 Season
This Weekend’s Games
Possible severe weather in the Charleston error has forced Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader between the Murray State softball team and Eastern Illinois has been moved to Friday at Noon. Sunday’s doubleheader at SIUE, which is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, remains unchanged for now, but weather could force the schedule to be altered.
Last Time Out
Murray State pushed its current win streak to five game with a win over Belmont and two over Tennessee State. Mason Robinson notched the first perfect game in MSU history in the win over Belmont. Against Tennessee State, the Racers belted out 15 runs over the doubleheader, including a grand slam by Maggie Glass in game one. In game two, Kaylee Ranburger went 3-for-3 at the plate to help propel MSU to the sweep.
The Eastern Illinois Series
The two teams played each other four times last season with each teams winning two games. Heading into the weekend, EIU leads the all-time series, 16-9. In Charleston, the Panthers also lead the series, winning eight of 13 meetings.
Scouting The Panthers
With a 25-17 record overall and a 9-3 mark in OVC play, Eastern Illinois will enter the weekend second in the league standings. Currently batting .372, Taylor Monahan leads a Panther offense that is batting .283 as a team. In the circle, Jessica Wireman has served as EIU’s ace with record of 14-9, a 2.15 ERA, 139 strikeouts, 56 walks and three saves. As a staff, Eastern Illinois allows opponents to score 2.36 earned runs per game and gives up a .238 batting average.
The SIUE Series
The Racers put a stop to a four-game streak by the Cougars last season, cutting into the SIUE lead in the series at 13-10. In Edwardsville, SIUE has only a slight edge in the series and leads six games to five.
Scouting The Cougars
Currently third in the OVC standings after a doubleheader loss to league-leading Jacksonville State last weekend, the Cougars are 35-10 overall and 10-4 in conference play. SIUE is currently batting .279 on the year, while holding their opponents to a .207 average. Allison Smiley is leading the way at the dish for SIUE this season with a .344 clip, followed by Zoe Schaffer and Alyssa Heren at .343. In the circle, the Cougars currently have a 1.85 team ERA led by recent NPF draftee Haley Chambers-Books’ 1.27 individual ERA. In addition, SIUE boasts one of the stoutest defenses in the country with a fielding percentage of .977, the ninth best in the nation.
Another Record Falls
With her 21st win of the season Tuesday, Mason Robinson set a new single-season mark for most wins by a MSU pitcher. The previous record was 20 which was set by CheyAnne Gaskey in 2015.
A Grand Day
Despite being second on MSU’s all-time home run list, Maggie Glass had never hit a grand slam. That changed Tuesday when she hit one against Tennessee State to become the 11th member of MSU’s Grand Slam club. Glass; grand slam went down as the 16th in program history.
A Driving Force
Jessica Twaddle became the new MSU career leader in RBIs against Belmont when she hit a two-run home run. She now has 134 for her career, passing the previous record of Alexa Becker who had 132.
Chasing The Crown
Senior Jessica Twaddle is on pace to become the MSU career leader in multiple categories this season. Below is a chart showing Twaddle’s current rank and what she needs to attain each record.
Career Cur. Record- Needed
Cat. # Rank. Holder For Rec.
RBIs 134 1 —- —
Hits 228 2 229-Miller 1
3B 7 4 8-3 Players 1
2B 49 2 51-Miller 2
Walks 82 3 90-Troup 8
HR 27 4 36-Becker 9
Runs 138 3 153-Becker 15
Free For All
Currently, all games this weekend are scheduled to be broadcast on OVCDigitalNetwork.com. As always, all games broadcast on the OVCDN are free of charge. Please note that coverage is subject to change without notice due to weather conditions.
OK, What’s Next?
The Racers will put an end to their 2017 regular season when they travel to Austin Peay Saturday. In addition to conference implications, six points will be up for grabs in the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border.
by Parker Griffith
