Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Racers End Regular Season with 7-1 Victory Over Eastern Illinois
5/9/2010 8:00:00 PM | Softball
The Murray State softball team ended its last regular-season game with a 7-1 victory over Eastern Illinois at Williams Field and earned the series victory. The victory helped the Racers move into fifth place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings after Tennessee Tech fell to Southeast Missouri State.
MSU recorded five hits in the game, with sophomore Megan Glosser and junior Taylor Wilson tallying two each. Junior Jenna Bradley hit her first grand slam and 12th home run of the season for a team-best four RBIs.
Sophomore Chelsey Sullivan earned her third-straight victory in the circle and threw her second complete game of the season. After allowing one run to score in the first inning she retired the next 11 batters and allowed just two hits the rest of the game.
The Racers started the game by scoring two runs in the top of the first. Freshman Megan Belio led off by walking and was advanced to second when sophomore Megan Glosser hit a well-placed bunt toward the third base line and reached safely. Junior Jenna Bradley then drew a walk to load the bases and freshman Ellyn Troup sent a run across the plate by drawing a walk. Freshman Kaitlyn England hit in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to center field to give MSU a 2-0 lead.
EIU added a run of its own in the top of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. A defensive mind set then came out from both teams, as the Racers retired the side for the next three innings and the Panthers allowed just two hits in the same span and no runs were score by either team.
Both teams had runners on base in the fifth inning, but were unable to score. MSU then added to its lead in the sixth inning. Freshman Stephanie Edwards hit a single just out of reach of the short stop and junior Taylor Wilson reached on a sacrifice bunt when the throw drew the second baseman off the bag at first. Belio then hit a blooper to left field that was missed by the fielder and allowed freshman Alaina Zloty, who was pinch running, to score from second. Glosser drew a walk to load the bases for Bradley, who hit a grand to give the Racers a 7-1 lead.
MSU kept its defensive pressure up and held the Panthers scoreless through the rest of the game, allowing just three base runners in the final three innings.
The Racers earned the No. 5 seed in the 2010 OVC Championship and will face No. 4 Eastern Illinois, Thursday, May 13 in Martin, Tenn.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Pyron
" Chelsey Sullivan picked up right where she left off yesterday in the circle. She was composed and really set the tone for us."
"We also made a lot of good plays in the field. Stephanie Mattocks and Lauren Buch came up with some really big plays, but we had solid defense all over the diamond today."
"We kept playing even when we weren't able to score runs and then Megan Belio and Jenna Bradley were able to come through for us later in the game and add some runs to the board."
"We try not to get too caught up in who we are going to play. We just go out and play the best game that we can play. We knew it was going to be a possibility to play Eastern Illinois in the tournament, but we are just going to go out and play our game and see what happens."
Junior Jenna Bradley
"It was great to win the series over Eastern Illinois, but we can't look past them for the tournament. I feel like the win gave us more confidence because we know we can win. We have to do all the same things we did today and not let up because anything can happen in the tournament."
"All through the series I have felt like I was right on pitches. I hit balls hard and it was a great feeling to get the grand slam."
Sophomore Chelsey Sullivan
"I came back to the dugout after the first inning and talked it through with the coaches and felt confident when I headed back to the circle."
"With each inning I got more confidence and I got a lot of help from the defense today."
"We know what Eastern Illinois is capable of so we are going to stay ready."
