Jakob Milani
Sports Editor
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After a series loss to Eastern Illinois University on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3, Murray State’s softball team bounced back with a series win over the Belmont Bruins, taking two of three games.
The Racers scored 19 runs over the weekend, putting the ball in play 30 times across the three games including two home runs from junior third baseman Gracie Osbron. Belmont took game two of the series with a 12-5 blowout.
GAME ONE
Junior right-handed pitcher Hannah James took to the mound for game one, entering the game with a 1.50 earned run average (ERA) on the season.
James’ ERA took a hit in the bottom of the first inning when junior first baseman Abi Ledbetter singled to bring in senior center fielder Cheyenne Cavanaugh to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
While the Racers were held scoreless through two innings, they were able to get on the board in the top of the third with a triple from senior right fielder Logan Braundmeier to bring in senior center fielder Jensen Striegel sophomore pinch runner Jordan Caple.
More runs piled in for the Racers in the third when senior shortstop Sierra Gilmore singled to senior shortstop Elison Ollinger, which proved to be enough to bring home Braundmeier.
One last run came across for the Racers in the third when a fielding error gave Gilmore enough time to score from second, putting the Racers up 4-0.
A double from Braundmeier in the top of the fourth inning brought Striegel back around to score a second time to put the Racers up 5-0.
Osbron got in on the action in the top of the fifth as she hit a solo home run to extend the lead for the Racers.
The game was capped off in the top of the sixth with a grand slam from Osbron, her second homer of the day. That was all the Racers needed as they defeated the Bruins 10-1 in game one in six innings.
GAME TWO
The Bruins came back with a big 12-5 win over the Racers in game two.
Murray State struck first in the game as Braundmeier scored on a flyout to center field. The Bruins answered with three runs in the bottom of the second including a groundout from Cavanaugh that brought home Ollinger.
Osbron got a run back for the Racers with a double to left field that brought home Gilmore. Belmont answered with a sacrifice fly from Cavanaugh that brought in freshman left fielder Baie Ensio.
The Bruins didn’t look back as they scored six in the bottom of the fifth inning, which included a three-run triple from Ollinger. The inning ended after a single from Ledbetter brought in two runners to make it 10-3.
While the Racers got two runs back in the top of the sixth, the Bruins canceled it out with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a sacrifice fly from Ledbetter to bring in Cavanaugh.
Despite having nine hits in the game, the Racers gave up 10 RBIs in 15 hits, leading to a Belmont 12-5 win.
GAME THREE
Osbron added to her RBI total on the weekend with a double in the top of the first that brought home Gilmore for the first run in game three.
The runs continued to come in for the Racers in the second inning as Striegel hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Caple, then a double from Braundmeier brought in freshman left fielder Isabella Wilson.
Gilmore hit another sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning to bring home Braundmeier to put the Racers up 4-0 with two innings left to play.
More runs came in the top of the sixth inning when Striegel reached base on an error by the shortstop, which also allowed Wilson to score.
Then, a double from junior second baseman Lindsey Carroll brought in Braundmeier and Striegel to make it 7-0 Racers, but both runs were unearned.
A single from junior second baseman Kristen Green doubled for the Bruins in the bottom of the sixth to bring in Cavanaugh to put the Bruins on the board. Senior right fielder Alicia Veltri brought in one more run for Belmont with a home run in the bottom of the seventh, but it was all the Bruins could manage.
With 11 hits and seven RBIs in the game, Murray State defeated Belmont 7-2 to take both the game and the series.
Braundmeier was 7-11 hitting in the series while Osbron hit 7-12 in the series including two home runs in game one. The Racer pitching staff recorded 22 strikeouts over the series and walked just five batters in that time.
Murray State improves to 27-11 on the season and 11-3 in conference play. The Racers travel back to Murray to take on Tennessee State at Racer Field for a three game series. Game one is set to start at 4 p.m. on Friday, with the last two games on Saturday, April 16.
