Murray State University Athletics
Racers Prepare for Final Regular Season Series at Eastern Illinois
5/6/2010 3:00:00 PM | Softball
The Murray State softball team has had plenty of time to prepare for its next competition after last week's games were cancelled against Morehead State due to heavy rain in the Murray area. By the time that the Racers take the field to face Eastern Illinois, Saturday, May 8 at 1 p.m. they will have had a total of 12 days off. The series with the Panthers is the final weekend in the inaugural regular-season for MSU. The teams will play a double header Saturday and a single game Sunday, May 9 starting at noon.
Scouting the Panthers
EIU heads into this weekend's games having had 13 days off due to the same weather system that hit the Murray area a week ago. The Panthers are currently 21-23 overall and 11-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference Standings, which puts them in fourth place. EIU started the league portion of the season with seven-straight victories, but has lost eight of its last 11 games.
Denee' Menzione is the Panther's leader at the plate. Menzione has a .333 batting average and has 36 hits, 15 RBIs and seven home runs in 108 at bats. She is the only member of the team to hit above .300 heading into this weekend's games, with Kiley Holtz next on the list at .283. Holtz has a team-best 30 RBIs, with five home runs and 34 hits to her name.
As a team, EIU is hitting .233 on the year, while allowing its opponents to hit. 265. The Panthers do have an advantage drawing walks, with 111 for the team and only 77 for their opponents. However, EIU has had 254 batters struck out this season, while only accounting for 177 strike outs of its opponents.
Amber May has accounted for 80% of those strike outs, with 141. May is the go-to pitcher for the Panthers, with a 14-13 record and a 2.30 ERA. She has appeared in 33 of the team's 44 games and thrown 20 complete games.
Shutting Out Opponents
Freshman Shelby Kosmecki earned two-straight shutouts last week for the Racers. The Somerset, Ky., native shut down Mid Continent (8-0) and then kept Eastern Kentucky from getting a run in her next appearance. The shut outs were the first two recorded by an MSU pitcher.
Producing At The Plate
The third game in the series with EKU was a productive one for the Racers at the plate. As a team MSU recorded 12 hits and had a team record 14 runs cross the plate. The previous high for runs in a game was 12 against Tennessee Tech (April 2). The Racers also set a record for the most runs scored in a single inning, with eight in the fifth. Six runs was the previous best in an inning, set twice earlier this season.
Two-Out Rally
For the past few weeks MSU has been doing a good job of rallying with two outs. The games against the Redhawks saw the Racers record a total of 24 runs. The first 20 of those runs were scored with two outs on the scoreboard, and the next two came with one out. MSU continued to produce with the extra pressure through the next week, as it scored 27-of-39 runs with two outs on the scoreboard. This included three of the four against SIU Edwardsville, 12-of-16 against Mid Continent and 12-of-19 against the Colonels.
Home Run Derby
The third game in the series with Southeast Missouri State turned into a home run derby for the Racers, with all nine of their runs coming because of one of four home runs hit during the game. Junior Stephanie Mattocks started MSU off by hitting her first career grand slam in the bottom of the first. Junior Jenna Bradley followed with a solo home run in the second, junior Lauren Buch then hit a two-run shot in the third and freshman Kaitlyn England finished the day off with a two-run homer in the fourth.
Putting Racer Name in NCAA Stats
In games through May 2, 2010, MSU was ranked No. 23 in the NCAA for stolen bases per game at 1.89. Sophomore Megan Glosser was ranked No. 28 individually in the same column, with 0.59 stolen bases per game. MSU also had five other players ranked in the top-100 in the NCAA statistics. Junior Jenna Bradley is ranked in four categories. She is No. 59 in RBIs per game (0.93), No. 90 for total home runs (11), No. 65 in walks per game (0.61) and No. 100 in home runs per game (0.24). Pitchers Shelby Kosmecki and Kristen Broadway are both in saves, with Kosmecki at No. 27 (3) and Broadway 77th (2). Freshmen Megan Belio is ranked No. 84 in triples (3) and Ellyn Troup is No. 76 in hit by pitches per game (0.2).
First Series Sweep
The Racers earned their first series sweep, with their 6-2 and 6-1 wins over Bethel, April 8 at Racer Field. The double header victory also marked the second time that MSU has swept a double header.
Putting Two Games Together
The Racers earned their first sweep of a double header, April 2, against Tennessee Tech. MSU earned a 12-6 decision in the first game of the day before coming from behind in the top of the seventh to earn a 6-1 win in the night cap.
First Conference Series
The Racers went 1-1 in their first OVC series at Tennessee State. MSU earned an 8-1 victory in the opening game of the day before falling 7-5 in game two. The third game is the series was then rained out.
First Grand Slam
After garnering her first career home runs against SIU Edwardsville (March 17), junior Taylor Wilson became the first Racer to record a grand slam. Wilson hit a shot over the left field fence at Louisiana-Monroe in the top of the second inning, March 23.
Home Run Weeks
From March 17 to March 27 the Racers more than doubled their home run performance on the season. In the first 13 games of the season MSU tallied six home runs, but in those nine games that total jumped 14, to 20. Freshman Ellyn Troup and juniors Jenna Bradley and Taylor Wilson led the production with three each. Troup and Bradley both had a game-winning home run in their totals, while Wilson recorded the team's first grand slam against Louisiana-Monroe (March 23). Freshman Kaitlyn England added two, while rookies Madi Ratliff and Stephanie Edwards and junior Lauren Buch each recorded one.
Picking Up First Win
The Racers earned their first collegiate victory, March 3, 2010 against Evansville (6-2) in the second game of a double-header at Racer Field. MSU followed with its second win over Eastern Kentucky, March 7, 2010 at the Lady Bison Classic hosted by Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn.
Up Next
The Racers are currently ranked fifth in the OVC standings and will have to wait until the conclusion of this weekend's games to find out if they will be one of the six teams to advance to the 2010 OVC Softball Championship. This year's tournament will be held in Martin, Tenn., after UT Martin clinched the regular-season title last weekend. The tournament is set for May13-15.
Scouting the Panthers
EIU heads into this weekend's games having had 13 days off due to the same weather system that hit the Murray area a week ago. The Panthers are currently 21-23 overall and 11-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference Standings, which puts them in fourth place. EIU started the league portion of the season with seven-straight victories, but has lost eight of its last 11 games.
Denee' Menzione is the Panther's leader at the plate. Menzione has a .333 batting average and has 36 hits, 15 RBIs and seven home runs in 108 at bats. She is the only member of the team to hit above .300 heading into this weekend's games, with Kiley Holtz next on the list at .283. Holtz has a team-best 30 RBIs, with five home runs and 34 hits to her name.
As a team, EIU is hitting .233 on the year, while allowing its opponents to hit. 265. The Panthers do have an advantage drawing walks, with 111 for the team and only 77 for their opponents. However, EIU has had 254 batters struck out this season, while only accounting for 177 strike outs of its opponents.
Amber May has accounted for 80% of those strike outs, with 141. May is the go-to pitcher for the Panthers, with a 14-13 record and a 2.30 ERA. She has appeared in 33 of the team's 44 games and thrown 20 complete games.
Shutting Out Opponents
Freshman Shelby Kosmecki earned two-straight shutouts last week for the Racers. The Somerset, Ky., native shut down Mid Continent (8-0) and then kept Eastern Kentucky from getting a run in her next appearance. The shut outs were the first two recorded by an MSU pitcher.
Producing At The Plate
The third game in the series with EKU was a productive one for the Racers at the plate. As a team MSU recorded 12 hits and had a team record 14 runs cross the plate. The previous high for runs in a game was 12 against Tennessee Tech (April 2). The Racers also set a record for the most runs scored in a single inning, with eight in the fifth. Six runs was the previous best in an inning, set twice earlier this season.
Two-Out Rally
For the past few weeks MSU has been doing a good job of rallying with two outs. The games against the Redhawks saw the Racers record a total of 24 runs. The first 20 of those runs were scored with two outs on the scoreboard, and the next two came with one out. MSU continued to produce with the extra pressure through the next week, as it scored 27-of-39 runs with two outs on the scoreboard. This included three of the four against SIU Edwardsville, 12-of-16 against Mid Continent and 12-of-19 against the Colonels.
Home Run Derby
The third game in the series with Southeast Missouri State turned into a home run derby for the Racers, with all nine of their runs coming because of one of four home runs hit during the game. Junior Stephanie Mattocks started MSU off by hitting her first career grand slam in the bottom of the first. Junior Jenna Bradley followed with a solo home run in the second, junior Lauren Buch then hit a two-run shot in the third and freshman Kaitlyn England finished the day off with a two-run homer in the fourth.
Putting Racer Name in NCAA Stats
In games through May 2, 2010, MSU was ranked No. 23 in the NCAA for stolen bases per game at 1.89. Sophomore Megan Glosser was ranked No. 28 individually in the same column, with 0.59 stolen bases per game. MSU also had five other players ranked in the top-100 in the NCAA statistics. Junior Jenna Bradley is ranked in four categories. She is No. 59 in RBIs per game (0.93), No. 90 for total home runs (11), No. 65 in walks per game (0.61) and No. 100 in home runs per game (0.24). Pitchers Shelby Kosmecki and Kristen Broadway are both in saves, with Kosmecki at No. 27 (3) and Broadway 77th (2). Freshmen Megan Belio is ranked No. 84 in triples (3) and Ellyn Troup is No. 76 in hit by pitches per game (0.2).
First Series Sweep
The Racers earned their first series sweep, with their 6-2 and 6-1 wins over Bethel, April 8 at Racer Field. The double header victory also marked the second time that MSU has swept a double header.
Putting Two Games Together
The Racers earned their first sweep of a double header, April 2, against Tennessee Tech. MSU earned a 12-6 decision in the first game of the day before coming from behind in the top of the seventh to earn a 6-1 win in the night cap.
First Conference Series
The Racers went 1-1 in their first OVC series at Tennessee State. MSU earned an 8-1 victory in the opening game of the day before falling 7-5 in game two. The third game is the series was then rained out.
First Grand Slam
After garnering her first career home runs against SIU Edwardsville (March 17), junior Taylor Wilson became the first Racer to record a grand slam. Wilson hit a shot over the left field fence at Louisiana-Monroe in the top of the second inning, March 23.
Home Run Weeks
From March 17 to March 27 the Racers more than doubled their home run performance on the season. In the first 13 games of the season MSU tallied six home runs, but in those nine games that total jumped 14, to 20. Freshman Ellyn Troup and juniors Jenna Bradley and Taylor Wilson led the production with three each. Troup and Bradley both had a game-winning home run in their totals, while Wilson recorded the team's first grand slam against Louisiana-Monroe (March 23). Freshman Kaitlyn England added two, while rookies Madi Ratliff and Stephanie Edwards and junior Lauren Buch each recorded one.
Picking Up First Win
The Racers earned their first collegiate victory, March 3, 2010 against Evansville (6-2) in the second game of a double-header at Racer Field. MSU followed with its second win over Eastern Kentucky, March 7, 2010 at the Lady Bison Classic hosted by Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn.
Up Next
The Racers are currently ranked fifth in the OVC standings and will have to wait until the conclusion of this weekend's games to find out if they will be one of the six teams to advance to the 2010 OVC Softball Championship. This year's tournament will be held in Martin, Tenn., after UT Martin clinched the regular-season title last weekend. The tournament is set for May13-15.
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