Jakob Milani
Staff Writer
After some recent struggles, the Murray State softball team came within one game of a three-game sweep over the Belmont Bruins on April 17 and 18.
Despite dominating in the first two games of the series, the Bruins took the final game with back-to-back home runs in the tenth inning, eliminating the Racers’ chance for the sweep.
Game One
The Racers got the series started with junior right-hander Hannah James on the mound. She made a quick impact for the Racers, striking out the first batter she faced and forcing the next two batters into groundouts. She allowed just two hits from the Bruins through the next three innings, giving the Racers a huge boost on defense.
The Bruins gave freshman right-hander Alex Clessi the start on the mound and she struggled from the start. The Racers quickly put runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning thanks to RBIs from senior shortstop Sierra Gilmore and junior second baseman Lindsey Carroll, giving the Racers a 2-0 lead. The scoring continued for the Racers when senior right fielder Logan Braundmeier hit a home run in the bottom of the third to give the Racers a 3-0 lead.
The Racers continued to extend their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when freshman catcher Taylor Jackson hit a double to center field to bring home freshman designated hitter Kamryn Carcich to give the Racers a 4-0 lead. The Bruins were able to strike back in the top of the fifth inning when freshman third baseman Kaley Varner singled into right field, bringing home senior shortstop Elison Ollinger to make the score 4-1.
The bottom of the fifth inning was when the Racers did the most damage offensively. The Racers first scored two runs off of a single from Braundmeier. A pair of bases-loaded walks brought in two more runs for the Racers to make it an 8-1 game.
The Racers scored one final run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Carcich doubled to center field to bring Braundmeier home. The Racers defeated the Bruins in game one by a score of 9-1. James earned her sixth win of the season, pitching all six innings and allowing just one earned run on three hits and a walk.
Game Two
Graduate right-hander Taylor Makowsky got the start on the mound for the Racers in game two and struggled early on. She allowed a hit on one out in the top of the first, then loaded the bases on a walk after a fielding error by Gilmore. But Makowsky pitched her way out of the jam by forcing a popout and leaving the inning with just one hit and no runs.
The Racers were the first to score, taking the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore third baseman Lily Fischer singled to center field to bring home freshman outfielder Jordan Caple, who was in to pinch run. This gave the Racers a 1-0 lead going into the third inning. The Racers weren’t done there as they scored two more runs off of RBIs from Carroll and Jackson, making the score 3-0 after the third inning.
The Bruins struggled at the plate all game, only hitting three hits after the fifth inning compared to the Racers’ eight hits in that time. In the bottom of the fifth, the Racers extended their lead even more with a two-run home run from Braundmeier, giving the Racers a 5-0 lead.
Despite two hits in the top of the sixth, the Bruins weren’t able to make a comeback. The Racers defeated the Bruins in game two 5-0 to take the series. With the win, Makowsky’s record improved to 5-2 on the season.
Game Three
The Racers looked to take their second sweep of the season in game three. James started on the mound for the Racers and managed to hold the Bruins scoreless through the first two innings. The Bruins were the first to score in the third inning when a single from sophomore left fielder Lauren Veltri brought home freshman outfielder Savannah Halterman, who was in to pinch-run, making it a 1-0 game for the Bruins.
The Racers answered in the bottom of the fourth inning when Gilmore doubled to left-center, bringing home Striegel to tie the game at 1-1. Three batters later, junior infielder Jordan Childress, who was in to pinch-hit, hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Gilmore to give the Racers a 2-1 lead.
It looked as though the Racers were going to take the sweep after holding the Bruins to just one run going into the seventh inning, But junior catcher Audrey Lyle had different plans. Lyle hit a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2. Sophomore right-hander Jenna Veber, who took over for James in the fourth inning, worked her way out of the inning, holding the Bruins to just one run scored.
The game went into extra innings, with neither team able to take a lead through the eighth and ninth innings. In the top of the tenth, the Bruins took the lead back with a two-run home run by Varner, making it a 4-2 game. The next at-bat, Lyle hit her second home run of the game, crushing the ball over the center field fence to give the Bruins a 5-2 lead.
The Racers attempted to make a comeback in the bottom half of the tenth inning, with Gilmore hitting a sacrifice fly to bring home Fischer, making it a 5-3 game. That was all the Racers could do, though, giving the Bruins game three of the series. Veber took her twelfth loss of the season, bringing her record to 6-12.
The Racers improved to 17-24 on the season and 14-11 in the conference The Racers will look to gain another three-game series win at Eastern Illinois on Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25.
