Murray State softball jumped up to second place in the OVC after beating Southeast Missouri State with three walk-off hits this weekend.

The scores were 4-3 in game one, 6-5 in game two, and 2-1 in game three.

Fans and coaches all around were on edge watching this weekend’s series. All three games came down to the wire and then at the last second the Racers pulled the win in the seventh inning with walk-off hits.

Head Coach Kara Amundson said she thought the team did not play its best softball this weekend but they found a way to get the wins.

Amundson said it took a little longer than she would have preferred, but at this time of the year, she said three wins are three wins.

“All the games were tight ball games that came down to the wire,” said infielder Alexa Becker. “But we were able to come out on top.”

Becker had two walk-offs against SEMO that contributed to the sweep: a walk-off single in game two on Saturday and the other on Sunday.

Becker now has 133 runs on the season and is the Murray State All-Time Leader in runs. She also leads Murray State in triples, home runs and RBI.

Sophomore outfielder Cayla Levins also had a walk-off on Saturday against SEMO. In game one, Levins was able to gain the game-winning base. She led the team and went 2-for-3  Sunday.

Becker said she doesn’t focus on statistics or the fact that she got two walk offs this weekend— her only concern is how her team is doing as a whole and what she can do to help them achieve greatness as their theme for the season states.

Senior pitcher CheyAnne Gaskey continues racking up wins, as she reached 13-7 for the year at the end of the SEMO series.

Amundson said that when the team is ahead going into the seventh inning it’s important to make sure if the door on the win.

Freshman pitcher Haven Campbell got a start. Campbell held her no-hitter until the seventh inning where she gave up just one hit.   

“I think Haven did a great job on Sunday,” Becker said. “She hasn’t gotten many starts this year and I thought she came in and did amazing job. That was one thing that helped in that game because she pitched an awesome game,” Becker said.

Amundson says she is excited for the upcoming conference play and can’t wait to get after it with the team.

“This is a big series for us and the other two teams were playing so it’s going to be competitive and fun because all three teams have some really good strengths,” Amundson said. “If we play our best we are going to put ourselves in a really good position. We need to get ahead early and stay consistent.”

Next the Racers will focus on their doubleheader against Jacksonville State. They will also play Tennessee Tech for the No. 3 OVC.

Story by Da’Sha Tuck, Staff writer