Dates & Time: May 16-18 (Game 1 – May 16 – 4 p.m. – vs. Michigan St.)
Sites (Venues): Normal, Ill. (Marian Kneer Stadium)
Audio: Mixlr.com/MSURacers
TV/Web Stream: None
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MUR Record (Streak): 31-22, 11-7 OVC (Lost 3)
Racers vs. The Field: 0-0
MSU Record (Streak): 32-11, 11-11 B1G (Lost 1)
ISU Record (Streak): 30-21, 20-6 MVC (Lost 4)
IUPUI Record (Streak): 23-29, 11-6 Summit (Lost 2)
MSU Next Home Games: 2018 Season
Tournament Preview
The Murray State softball team will travel to Normal, Illinois for the program’s first postseason appearance as part of the 2017 National Invitational Softball Championship, the NIT of Softball. The Racers will open play at Illinois State against Big Ten member Michigan State Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Joining the Racers, Spartans and the host Redbirds at the double elimination Normal Regional will be IUPUI. In total, 26 teams will compete at six different sites in the first round of the inaugural NISC. The six winners will then advance to a championship site that is to be determined.
Last Time Out
The Racers had a disappointing trip to the 2017 OVC Softball Championship where they went 0-2 for the first time since 2011. In game one, MSU surrendered a three-run lead in the fifth and allowed Eastern Illinois to rally for the 6-5 win. In game two, Murray State cut into a 2-1 lead in the second, but Belmont’s Brooklin Lee retired 15 of the last 16 batters she faced as the Bruins held on for the 5-1 win. Kaylee Ranburger led Murray State by going 3-for-7 in the tournament, while Jessica Twaddle has MSU’s lone home run against Eastern Illinois.
Against The Field
The Racers have never faced any of the three teams in this week’s field.
Scouting The Spartans
The Spartans finished the 2017 season with a 33-22 overall record and a 11-11 mark in Big Ten play. In the Big Ten tournament, MSU made a run to the semifinals that included a win over 17th-ranked rival Michigan. Kaitlyn Everland currently leads Sparty at the plate with a .404 average, while Lea Forester follows close behind at .402. In the circle, Bridgette Rainey has served as the ace with a 15-8 record over 130.2 inning with a 3.96 ERA, 134 strikeouts, 91 walks and a .269 opponent’s average. As a team, Michigan State is hitting .315, while allowing opponents to hit .292 and score 4.16 earned runs per game.
Scouting The Redbirds
Illinois State was 30-21 overall and 20-6 in the Missouri Valley, which earned them a share of the regular-season conference championship. The 2017 MVC Player of the Year Jordan de los Reyes lead an Illinois State squad that batted .305 as a team with a team-high individual average of .401. As a staff, the Redbirds are allowing 3.61 earned runs per game and are giving up a .2176 average. Sarah Finck leads all ISU pitchers with a 2.60 ERA, a 21-11 record, 76 strikeouts, 62 walks and a .256 opponent’s average.
Scouting The Jaguars
Despite a 23-29 overall record on the year, IUPUI won its first Summit League regular-season conference championship with an 11-6 record in league play. The Jaguars advanced to the conference tournament for the second straight season in 2017, but despite having two chances in the championship, came up short against North Dakota State. Maggie Good and Ron Patterson currently leads the Jaguar offense with an average of .351 and .350, respectively. Nickole Finch leads the way in the circle for IUPUI with a 14-12 record, a 4.91 ERA, 136 strikeouts, 94 walks and an opponent’s average of .317. Offensively, the Jaguars are currently hitting .293, while opponents hits .337 against them. Pitching wise, IUPUI is currently giving up 5.88 runs per game, 4.99 of which are earned.
Weather Forecast
The overall forecast for the week in Normal looks like Chamber of Commerce weather. Temps will be in the low to mid 80s with lots of sunshine and just a bit of wind on Wednesday.
Return To The Top
Senior Jessica Twaddle made history last Tuesday when she became the first player in the 23-year history of the award to be named as the OVC Player of the Year twice. She was previously named Player of the Year in 2015.
Conference Honors
Jessica Twaddle, Mason Robinson and Brenna Finck all received All-OVC accolades Tuesday. Over the eight-year history of the program 14 different Racers have earned 21 total honors with 14 of the 21 coming under current head coach Kara Amundson. Twaddle is now the first three-time All-OVC honoree in program history and also the first to be named to an OVC team in each of their four years of eligibility, including All-Newcomer team honors.
Best of What’s New
Kaylee Ranburger became the 10th player in MSU history to earn OVC All-Newcomer honors Tuesday. Of the nine previous honorees, seven also earned All-OVC honors either in that year of the years to follow.
Moving The Bar
The 2017 Racers set new single-season marks in two separate categories this season. MSU had 14 triples in 2017 tying the 2014 Racers for the most in program history. 2017 also proved to be MSU’s most effective year on the base paths, stealing 86.3 of the bases they attempted.
RPI Report
In the eighth RPI of 2017, the Racers came in ranked 73rd. The Racers began the year ranked 67th in the first RPI of the season, the highest-ranking ever by a Racer squad. The previous best was 87th in the first ranking of 2012.
Date Rank Movement
Mar. 20 67 —
Mar. 27 78 -11
Apr. 3 78 —
Apr. 10 77 +1
Apr. 17 80 -3
Apr. 23 74 +6
May 1 72 +2
May 8 73 -1
Chasing The Crowns
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 139 1 —- —
Hits 231 1 — —
Avg. .376 1 — —
3B 7 4 8-3 Players 1
2B 49 2 51-Miller 2
Walks 87 2 90-Troup 3
HR 29 4 36-Becker 7
Runs 142 3 153-Becker 11
In The Mix
Select Murray State softball away games, including all games in the NISC, will once again be broadcast this season on the internet via Mixlr. Fans can listen, free of charge, on any computer at mixlr.com/msuracers or by downloading the Mixlr app, available on Apple and Android devices, and searching msuracers. The games will be broadcast by MSU softball media relations contact, Parker Griffith.
by Parker Griffith
