Murray State University Athletics
Thoroughbreds Prepare For OVC Tournament
5/21/2007 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds are ready to begin their "second season," post-season play in the O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament, which begins Wednesday at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky. This marks the second trip to the OVC finale in the last three seasons for the 'Breds.
"We are working hard to get ready for the tournament," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "As a whole, we competed well against the league this season, and we are ready to make a run for the tournament title."
The 'Breds (18-33, 12-13 OVC) received the No. 6 seed into the tournament, and will begin play against No. 3 Southeast Missouri (31-22, 16-10 OVC) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The tournament opens on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. with No. 4 Samford (29-26, 14-13 OVC) taking on No. 5 Eastern Kentucky (23-27, 12-12 OVC). Top-seeded Austin Peay (36-20, 19-8 OVC) and No. 2 Jacksonville State (31-25, 18-9 OVC) earned first-round byes and will begin play on Thursday.
The race to earn one of the six berths into the tournament was a close one, with the fifth- through eighth-place teams each finishing with 12 conference wins. Each of those teams had a different number of losses, due to the number of games eliminated by weather. Only five teams -- Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Samford, Tennessee Tech and Morehead State -- played their full complement of 27 OVC games.
The all-conference teams will be announced Tuesday evening.
TICKETS: Tickets will be available only at the stadium gate. Prices for tournament tickets are: $25 for a tournament pass, $8 for a day pass, $12 for a tournament pass for college students and youths age 12-18, and $3 for day passes for college students and youths age 12-18. Those under the age of 12 get in free.
DIRECTIONS: From I-24, take Exit 7. If you come in on I-24 West (from Kentucky south of Paducah), turn right off of the exit. If you come in on I-24 East (from Illinois), turn left off of the exit. Turn right at the fifth stoplight onto Jackson Street. You will go past one stoplight, down a hill and under a railroad trestle, then through another stoplight. After that second stoplight, you will see McDonald's on the left. Turn right after the Henneberger, Flynn and Associates sign (25th Street). The road will curve to the left. After about four or five blocks' distance, you will see the stadium on the left. If you miss the turn at 25th Street, you can turn right at almost any of the next four or five streets, go down a few blocks, then turn right. Signs for Brooks Stadium will be visible on Jackson Street from 25th Street forward.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT: Murray State will have live audio feeds through www.GoRacers.com, with day games heard on WOFC (1130 AM, Murray) and night games on WNBS (1340 AM, Murray). Edwin Richerson will carry the MSU action on Wednesday and Thursday, and Neal Bradley will bring the play-by-play for 'Breds games on Friday and Saturday.
Live Stats will be available through www.OVCsports.com, and live video streaming packages will be made available through www.OVCsports.tv. Visit that Web site for more details on video streaming.
