Murray State
Alabama State
Racers Blast Past Alabama State
4/20/2011 8:47:44 PM | Softball
Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2
Murray State (16-23) used five home runs, including a pair from Stephanie Edwards, to pick up a pair of 9-0 and 10-4 victories against Alabama State Wednesday afternoon at Racer Field.
Jenna Bradley kicked off the homer barrage, hitting her 12th of the season on a solo shot in the first inning to put the Racers up 1-0.
Stephanie Edwards got into the mix in the bottom of the second with her third home run of the season to score Meghan Sims and Stephanie Mattocks as MSU took a 4-0 lead.
Lauren Buch and Sims helped manufacture three more runs in the third. Buch doubled up the middle with Megan Glosser on third and Bradley on second to score two more. Sims hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to center that allowed Ellyn Troup to score from third to lead 7-0 through three innings.
The middle of the MSU lineup came through again in the fourth. Bradley doubled to left to score Glosser from third after a lead-off triple. Bradley came in for the ninth and final run of the game as Buch singled for her third RBI of the game.
Shelby Kosmekci pitched a gem, allowing just two Alabama State batters to reach base as she earned her seventh victory of the season. Her eight strikeouts were a season-high and tied her career best set in 2010 against Austin Peay.
Alabama State (8-30) scored its first runs of the afternoon to lead off game two, roping a two-out double into right field off the bat of Meagan Dixon to take a 1-0 lead.
Murray State rebounded in the bottom half of the inning to capture the lead as Bradley doubled to left center to score Glosser from second. Bradley came in to score two batters later on a ground out to short from Troup on the second out of the inning.
The Racers added another run in the second as Sims got in scoring position with one out on a double to center. She moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from Edwards.
The Hornets put together four hits in the top of the third to tie the game at 3-3 as Macy Rodriguez singled up the middle to score runners from second and third before getting thrown out trying to take second base.
The teams traded runs in the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth, Murray State scoring as Taylor Wilson doubled down the line to left to score Edwards from first.
ASU hit their lone homer of the game to lead off its half of the fifth and Ayesha Famble cleared the fence in left to bring the game to 4-4.
The Racers bats exploded in the fifth, scoring five runs off of five hits to take a commanding 9-4 lead. The inning was highlighted by a pair of back-to-back home runs as Edwards hit her second of the day to score Sims. Wilson followed with her fourth of the season to cap the inning.
Troup followed with the team's final home run of the game to straightaway center field in the Racers half of the six for the final run of the game.
Leslie Bridges earned the win to pick up the first decision of her career. She entered to open the fifth inning as five of the nine outs she picked up came on strike outs with nobody reaching base.
Six Racers (Edwards, Glosser, Bradley, Buch, Wilson and Mattocks) had at least three hits in the doubleheader sweep. Edwards led the team with six RBI as Bradley and Buch each drove in three runs. Bradley led the Racers with four runs scored and was followed by four MSU players (Edwards, Glosser, Sims and Troup) that each crossed home three times.
Murray State dominated on the base paths, completing the afternoon a perfect 10-10 in steal attempts. Glosser led the team with four stolen bases with Bradley one behind with three. Wilson, Sims and Troup each successfully stole one base each.
The Racers return to action Friday, April 22, opening up a crucial OVC three game stand against Eastern Kentucky. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
