The Murray State Racers softball team played four games at home this past weekend and were able to split them, winning two and losing two. The two they lost were both the second game of their respective days, so fatigue seemed to play a bit of a factor.
The first game on Friday, March 7, was against Akron, where they were able to get the win 9-2. The Racers had four players with multiple hits, those being freshmen Katy Huels and Kenley Minor, junior Bailey Broemmer and senior Erin Lackey.
As for the pitching, junior Bre Haislip was able to go the distance and pitch all seven innings for the Racers. She allowed six hits, just two runs and did it all in less than 100 pitches.
The second game the Racers played on Friday was against Cleveland State, but they were not able to win both games as they lost 7-3.
Despite the loss, the Racers had some impressive hitters, namely sophomore catcher Taylor Franzen, who finished the game 3-for-3.
However, the Racers were immediately able to get their revenge on Saturday against Cleveland State, beating them 9-0 in their first of two games on the day.
Junior Ava Ozment and Minor combined for six of the team’s nine runs batted in finishing with three apiece. The game was finished after five innings, and Haislip was able to go the distance once again and finish with three strikeouts and just 61 pitches.
The final game of the weekend for the Racers was against Akron, where they were not able to close out Saturday with a win, losing 4-3.
They took a 2-0 lead into the fourth inning, but the Akron offense was able to come alive and have back-to-back innings where they scored two runs. The Racers scored another run in the sixth inning but were not able to close the gap and get the victory.
The Racers opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 3-0 loss to Belmont in Nashville on Wednesday, March 12.
The Racers had four hits for the game. Despite sophomore Parker Holcombe being in scoring position at the top of the sixth, the Racers were unable to cross home plate all day.
Belmont’s Maya Johnson improved her record to 9-1 with a season-high 17 strikeouts. Johnson now has 123 season strikeouts, which is second-best in the country, and a season ERA of 0.73.
Haislip struck out two hitters and allowed two runs in four and two-thirds innings. Freshman Karlye Graber pitched the leftover one and one-third innings allowing no hits, no runs and two strikeouts.
Holcombe managed two hits and Minor and Broemmer each took one.
Murray State will play a doubleheader against Bradley in their first home series of conference play. Both games are on Friday, March 14 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. They finish the series against Bradley at noon on Sunday, March 16.
