Redshirt senior infielder Gracie Osbron received the Pepsi Athlete of the Week award after her performance at the 2023 Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament.

Osbron recorded six hits, eight RBIs, three stolen bases, three runs and a walk in four games over the weekend. 

Murray State traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to play five games in the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament. Of those five games, the Racers played twice against Dartmouth College and Mississippi State and once against Abilene Christian. 

The first game of the tournament came against the Dartmouth Big Green on Friday. Freshman infielder Ailey Schyck got the Racers on the board first after hitting a two-run home run to center field. Schyck drove in redshirt senior infielder Lindsey Carroll, who got on base by a fielding error. 

Freshman outfielder Bailey Broemmer then homered to center field. The Racers added two more runs that inning to go up 5-0 at the end of the second inning. Dartmouth scored a run in the fourth and fifth innings to close the gap, but Murray State scored twice more in the sixth inning to distance themselves and pick up the 7-2 win to start the tournament. 

Redshirt junior pitcher Jenna Veber got the win for the Racers. She allowed seven hits, two runs and no walks while striking out four batters as she pitched all seven innings.

Sophomore outfielder Erin Lackey scored two runs in the win over the Big Green. She was 1-2 at the plate with two walks. Osbron hit two doubles and ended up with a run, three RBIs and a walk. Freshman utility player Adison Hicks went 2-3 as well. Broemmer hit a home run and a double, recording two runs and an RBI.

The Racers then went on to play again on Friday, this time against the Abilene Christian Wildcats. Murray State got an early lead after Carroll hit a double to drive in redshirt junior infielder Lily Fischer in the second inning. 

Murray State added onto the lead after Osbron hit a three-run homer to center field to increase the Racers’ lead to 4-0 after the end of the third inning. The Racers scored two more runs in the seventh inning before the Wildcats were able to put their first point on the board that same inning. The Racers won the game 6-1.

Redshirt senior pitcher Hannah James got the win for the Racers. She pitched all seven innings while allowing five hits, a run and a walk. James struck seven Wildcat batters out in the win. 

Broemmer scored twice in the win over the Wildcats. She had a single and reached first base off an error. Osbron’s homer gave her three RBIs, and she also had a stolen base. Lackey totaled two hits and a run in four at-bats. 

Murray State’s success carried over to Saturday, March 4 as the Racers played Dartmouth once again to start the second day of the tournament. Lackey got on base to start off the bottom of the first inning, which set up Osbron to drive her in after hitting a single. 

The next run for the Racers came in the third inning after Fischer hit a sacrifice groundout to drive Hicks in, giving the Racers a 2-0 lead.

The Big Green scored once in the sixth inning but was not able to match the Racers’ runs, and Murray State ultimately won the matchup 2-1. 

Freshman pitcher Bre Haislip received the win after pitching five innings. She allowed two hits and a run while striking out four batters. 

The Racers only had three hits in the game, but that was all they needed. Lackey, Osbron and Broemmer were all able to record a hit. 

Murray State then played in its second game on Saturday against the host of the tournament, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. 

The game was scoreless until the fifth inning, where the Bulldogs committed three errors. Those errors resulted in a pair of Racer runs to give Murray State a 2-0 lead. Murray State got another unearned run in the sixth before Fischer homered to go up 4-0. 

The Bulldogs homered in the seventh inning, but that was all they could muster up, as the Racers won 4-1. Veber pitched all seven innings for the Racers, allowing seven hits and a run while striking out two batters. Murray State had three hits and three walks.

The Racers and Bulldogs played once more on the following day. The Sunday, March 5 matchup between the two teams went differently. 

Murray State got on the board first in the fourth inning after Fischer hit a single that drove Osbron in. Schyck hit a single later in the inning to drive Fischer in as the Racers had a 2-0 lead. 

Mississippi State responded, scoring three runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. Osbron hit a double down the left field line to drive in Lackey, who doubled herself earlier in the inning. This tied the game up at 3. 

After Osbron’s double that sent the game into extra innings, Mississippi State was able to hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 win.

Haislip received the loss after coming in at the start of the eighth inning and allowing the two-run walk-off home run. 

Lackey went 3-4 with a run in the loss. Osbron went 2-4 with a run and a RBI. Carroll went 2-4 from the plate and Fischer had a hit, a run and an RBI. 

The Racers host the Racer Classic, which will take place at Racer Field on Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11. 

The Racers play the Youngstown State Penguins at 3 p.m. on Friday and 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. They also play the Illinois State Redbirds at 12:30 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday. 

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