Murray State
Tennessee Tech
Racers Earn Two Wins at Tennessee Tech
4/2/2010 11:00:00 PM | Softball
The Murray State softball team earned its first sweep of a double header, with 12-6 and 6-1 wins at Tennessee Tech in Ohio Valley Conference action. The Racers (9-17, 4-4 OVC) led from start to finish in the opening game of the day and then came from behind in the top of the seventh to earn the victory in game two.
"I am happy with how we played today," said head coach Jay Pyron. "We didn't play perfect, but we put together two complete games and competed all day."
It was an all-around effort for MSU at the plate, with only three of 11 batters not recording a hit on the day. Freshman Ellyn Troup led the team with four hits, while adding eight put-outs. Juniors Stephanie Mattocks and Taylor Wilson each added two hits, with Mattocks knocking in five RBIs and Wilson contributing two.
All four of the Racers pitchers saw action in the circle, with all recording at least one strike out. Freshman Starr Gilley garnered her first career victory in game one and tallied five strike outs. Sophomore Chelsey Sullivan earned the victory in game two and moved to 3-7 on the season.
MSU and the Golden Eagles (13-21, 3-6 OVC) will play again Saturday, April 3 in a single game to conclude the league series. The first pitch is scheduled to fly at 1 p.m. at Tech Softball Field.
Game 1 - Murray State 12, Tennessee Tech 6
The Racers wasted no time get their bats going in the opening game of the double header, as MSU recorded three hits and had four runners cross the plate in the top of the first inning. Freshman Megan Belio started the game off with a walk and was followed on base by sophomore Megan Glosser who reached on an error. Freshman Ellyn Troup then loaded the bases with a single to left field. Rookie Kaitlyn England hit into a double play, but Belio was able to score. Glosser scored, on the next at bat, when junior Jenna Bradley hit a single to left center. The bases were then reloaded for junior Stephanie Mattocks, who drove in the final two runs of the inning with a single up the middle.
The Racers defense held the Golden Eagles scoreless in the bottom of the first and then MSU added four more runs in the next inning. For the second straight inning the Racers batted around, with Megan Glosser starting the offense with a pop-up single just in front of second base. England was hit by a pitch and Bradley reached on an error to load the bases for junior Lauren Buch. Buch hit a single back at the pitcher to score one and then Mattocks and freshman Stephanie Edwards hit singles over the head of the first baseman to score three more runs and give the Racers an 8-0 lead.
TTU mounted a comeback in the bottom of the second inning, scoring six runs to cut the deficit to two runs (8-6).
The Racers got their bats going again in the top of the fourth, as they again batted around. Edwards got the scoring started by being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, after a walk and two TTU errors. Bradley then scored on a pass ball during the next at bat and junior Taylor Wilson hit a shot up the middle to score a third. MSU added a fourth run, to make the score 12-6, when Belio hit a ball at the short stop that allowed freshman Alaina Zloty, who was pinch running, to score from third.
After the six runs for the Golden Eagles in the second inning the MSU defense held TTU without a run and only six base runners for the rest of the game.
Game 2 - Murray State 6, Tennessee Tech 1
The Golden Eagles were the first to score in the bottom of the first, as they took a 1-0 advantage. That was how the score remained until the top of the seventh when MSU took the lead.
The Racers had scoring chances in the fifth and sixth innings as they had runners in scoring positions, but the TTU defense held them without a run. However, MSU kept fighting and tied the game and took a 6-1 lead in the top of the seventh. Junior Jenna Bradley reached on a throwing error by the short stop and advanced to second. Junior Lauren Buch then drew the walk. Junior Stephanie Mattocks then hit a single up the middle that scored Bradley. Freshman Stephanie Edwards was the next batter and drew the walk to load the bases for junior Taylor Wilson who reached when the center fielder dropped the ball hit her way. That allowed a run to score to give the Racers the lead.
The next batter struck out, but the bases were still loaded for freshman Alaina Zloty. Zloty drew the walk to send another run across the plate. Freshman Ellyn Troup drove in three final runs, to give the Racers a 6-1 advantage. Troup hit a single to right field that was bobbled and allowed the bases to clear and Troup to end up on third base.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Pyron
"Coming from behind is something that we haven't done much this year. We stayed committed to what we were doing and we got a couple good at bats and things worked out for us."
"It always makes a coaching staff happy when players believe in what they are doing and contribute no matter where they are batting in the line-up."
"We have a talented group and every day we move closer to where we want to be as a team."
