Blues City Classic Up Next For Softball

Game Notes | Live Stats

Dates: Feb. 21-23, 2014
Tournament Name (Host): Blues City Classic (Memphis)
Site: Southaven, Miss. (Greenbrook Park)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @MSURacers @PGriffithMSU
MSU Record (Streak): 5-2 (W3)
MSU vs. The Field: 3-8
All-Time Series vs. Appalachian State: First Meeting
All-Time Series vs. Evansville: UE leads 6-3
All-Time Series vs. Ball State: First Meeting
All-Time Series vs. Loyola Chicago: First Meeting
All-Time Series vs. Lipscomb: LU leads 2-0
MSU Next Tournament: Mar. 1-2, Coach B Classic hosted by Southern Ill. (Carbondale, Ill.)
MSU Next Home: Mar. 15-16 vs. UT Martin

Off to the best start in program history, the Murray State softball team will look to continue its momentum when it travels to Southaven, Miss., this weekend to take part in the Blues City Classic hosted by Memphis.

The Racers posted a 3-0 record at the Hornet invitational weekend and walked away with the tournament crown. MSU posted a 4-2 win over Gardner-Webb in game one on Saturday, followed by a 6-2 win over host Alabama State. Murray State wrapped up play in Montgomery on Sunday with an 8-0, six-inning win over Alabama A&M, who entered the game with a 3-0 tournament record.

Alexa Becker had a big weekend for the Racers, as she went 5-for-9 with a double, a home run, a stolen base, four runs and four RBIs. She tallied at least one hit and one run in each of her three games on the week and finished the three-game stretch with a .556 average, a 1.00 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.

In the circle, J.J. Francis went 1-0 with a save, giving up just one unearned run on five hits over seven innings of play on the week. On Sunday, she recorded her first-ever collegiate complete game shutout against Alabama A&M by allowing no runs on three hits with three strikeouts. She ended the week with three strikeouts and an opponent's batting average of .217.

This weekend MSU will take on three new opponents in Appalachian State, Ball State and Loyola Chicago and two familiar foes.

Evansville is the Racers most common non-conference opponent, having met on nine previous occasions, with UE leading the series, 6-3. The series will only grow this season as the two teams are schedule to meet five times; once on Friday, twice at the Evansville Invitational in two weeks and in a doubleheader at Racer Field on Apr. 9.

Friday will be just the second time the two teams have faced each other on neutral dirt, with the last meeting resulting in a loss for Murray State 2010 Lipscomb Lady Bison Classic. MSU will enter the series having won the last meeting by taking the second game of a double header in Evansville last season, snapping a four-game skid to the Purple Aces.

While not a frequent, MSU has faced another Blue City Classic opponent before this weekend. Murray State and Lipscomb have met just two times previous, with the Bison sweeping both meetings at their own 2010 Lady Bison Classic.

Appalachian State has struggled out of the gate and has won just one of its first seven games. The Mountaineers went 0-6 against some stiff competition at Arizona State's Kajikawa Classic, but won their lone game against Presbyterian at last weekend's rain-shortened Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan invitational at USC Upstate.

Cara Parker has appeared in five games at three different positions so far for App State and leads the team with a .571 average. Cynthia Gomez follows Parker with .474 clip, while Ashley Seering has a .381 average and a team-high seven RBIs. Shivaun Landeros has made six appearances in the circle for the Mountaineers this season and is 1-4 on the year. She currently has a 5.45 ERA, 10 strikeouts and a .336 opponent's batting average

Evansville is currently 2-2 on the year after opening the season last weekend at the Samford Invitational. The Purple Aces won their first two game, besting OVC members Eastern Kentucky and Belmont, before falling to host Samford and in a rematch with EKU. Megan Gurski currently leads Evansville with a .462 average, while Chandra Parr follows for UE at .300.

Briana Combs and Emily Morris each picked up wins in the circle last weekend, with Combs posting a team-low 1.17 ERA. Morris currently leads the team with seven strikeouts and is followed by Gurski with six.

Ball State will enter the weekend at 4-2 after sweeping the Century Link Classic at Texas State and going 1-2 at the Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan invitational hosted by USC Upstate. Briana Evans and Loren Cihlar are leading BSU currently, batting .438 and .429, respectively.

Meanwhile, Taylor Rager is batting .353 with a team-high seven RBIs and is followed by Audrey Bickel with six RBIs and is hitting .421. Kelsey Schifferdecker is currently undefeated in the circle this season at 3-0. She has team-low 1.42 ERA, seven strikeouts and is limiting hitters to a .243 average.

Loyola Chicago is currently 3-6 on the year, posting a 1-3 record at the Total Control Sports Invitational in nearby Rosemont and a 2-3 record at Auburn's Tiger Invitational. Brie Pasquale has hit .360 over all nine games so far this season, while Oilvia Bell has hit .300.

Pasquale has also hit for power, as well as contact, by belting two doubles, two home runs with seven RBIS for a .680 slugging percentage over the first two weeks of the season. Ashley Rodgers has the most win of any Ramblers pitcher at 2-1 with a 6.43 ERA, while Brittany Gardner boasts the team's lowest ERA at 4.64 to go along with a 1-3 record.

The Bisons are off to a strong start to the season at 8-1 and have already recorded impressive victories over Virginia Tech, Iowa, then 16th-ranked Baylor and UAB, which was ranked to begin the season. Lipscomb's only loss this season has been at the hands of another ranked team, as they were defeated 8-0 by then No. 14 Missouri. The Bisons are also currently receiving votes in both major Top 25 polls.

Paige Neely currently leads the upstart Bisons with a .500 average, going 15-for-30 on the year with three doubles, two home runs, a team-high 10 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .800. In the circle, Tanner Sanders leads the way with an unblemished 5-0 record, a team-low 1.48 ERA, seven strikeouts and an opponent's batting average of .226.

Live stats will be available for all five games of the tournament and a video only feed available against Evansville. A link to the tournament page with all links is posted at the top of this page and at GoRacers.com.

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