Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Samford
Racers Split Double Header at Samford
3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The Murray State softball team split a double header with Samford in the final road games of its Spring Break trip. The Racers (6-14) dropped a 5-0 decision in the opening game before coming back to earn an 11-3 win, in six innings, in the second game of the day.
Junior Jenna Bradley powered MSU to victory in game two, by hitting to three-run home runs. The dingers were the fifth and sixth of her career. The Trilla, Ill., native tallied three hits on the day, while freshmen Christian Cox and Kaitlyn England and sophomore Megan Glosser each added two hits.
Freshman Shelby Kosmecki earned her first win in the circle for the Racers and went to 1-5 on the season. The Somerset, Ky., native recorded two strike outs and allowed four hits. Freshman Starr Gilley earned the start in game one and garnered four strike outs.
"We are starting to show some poise and maturity," said head coach Jay Pryon. "We had a rough stretch of games and I challenged the team to respond to that after our first game today. I told them to come out swinging and they did."
Game 2 - Murray State 11, Samford 3
The Racers were the first team to put a run on the scoreboard in the second game of the day. With one out junior Jenna Bradley hit a single to the short stop to get on base. Freshman Christian Cox then hit a double to deep right center to score Bradley from first to give MSU a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
The Racer added to their lead in the following inning, with three runs. With two outs freshman Kaitlyn England hit a double to deep left center. Junior Stephanie Mattocks followed with a single up the middle that advanced England to third and Mattocks to second on the throw to cover home plate. Junior Jenna Bradley then stepped to the plate and hit a shot out of the park just to the right of the scoreboard in left field to give MSU a 4-0 lead. The homer was a team-leading fifth on the season for Bradley.
The Racers added a fifth run in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Megan Glosser reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second to put herself in scoring position. Junior Taylor Wilson then walked to put two runners on for junior Lauren Buch. Buch sent a hard ground ball to the short stop that took a hard bounce and went into left field, which allowed Glosser to score.
The Bulldogs had a good chance to score in the bottom of the fourth as they had two batters reach on errors and the bases were loaded with a walk. However MSU buckled down and junior Stephanie Mattocks had two ground balls hit at her to end the inning without a run crossing the plate. Mattocks sent the first ground ball home for the second out of the inning and tagged third for the final out.
The Racers used that momentum in the top of the fifth and added three more runs to their total to go up 8-0. Freshman Ellyn Troup was hit by a pitch and then Cox was walked to put two runners on base for pinch hitter Madi Ratliff. Ratliff then hit the first home run of her career down the left field line to score three runs.
The first batter up for Samford in the bottom of the fifth responded for the Bulldogs with a home run to left center. Bradley responded with a second three-run home run in the top of the sixth. This time she sent her shot over the center field fence and scored Wilson and Buch who had both walked.
The Bulldogs added two runs in the bottom of the sixth off a double, but it was not enough to eliminate the eight-run rule and the Racers took the 11-3 win.
Game 1 - Samford 5, Murray State 0
The Bulldogs struck first in the bottom of the first with two runs. Gilley then stepped up in the circle and struck out four of the next five batters. Samford added two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 advantage. The lead grew to 5-0 after the bottom of the fifth.
The Racers struggled to get their offense going and tallied just three hits and no runs in the opening game of the double header.
The Racers will now return to Racer Field at Murrray-Calloway Country Park for their first Ohio Valley Conference series. MSU will host OVC preseason favorite Jacksonville State, March 27-28. A double header is scheduled for 1 p.m., Saturday, March 27, with a single game set to begin at 1 p.m., Sunday, March 28.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Pyron
"The win all started with Shelby Kosmecki in the circle. She threw a heck of a game and then we had hitters all throughout the line up."
" Jenna Bradley really came out big for us today and it was nice to see Madi Ratliff hit her first home run."
"I am more proud of the way they have responded to what has been happening then how they played today. I told the team that if they play hard good things are going to happen."
"What Shelby Kosmecki showed today is what we expect of her. We feel like she is putting everything together now and I know that we will see a lot more of what we saw today in the future. She has worked hard to get where she knows she can be and today was just a glimpse of what she can do for our team"
