Racers Split Again At Blues City

Saturday, February 22

Southaven, Miss.

10 a.m.

Murray State

7-3

Ball State

5-2

Murray St.

Ball St.

2/22/2014 1:40:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

| BSU Box Score (PDF) | LUC Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF)

For the second day in a row, the Murray State softball team dropped their first game at Memphis' Blues City Classic in Southaven, Miss., only to bounce back and take game two. Murray State began the day with a heartbreaking 5-3, eight inning loss to Ball State, but responded to the defeat by topping Loyola Chicago, 6-1, in grand fashion.

Game 1 – Ball State 5, Murray State 3 (8 Inn.)
The two teams were evenly matched throughout the game and each time one team put up a run, the other answered. Murray State (6-4) jumped on Ball State's pitching from the get-go in the contest and led off with two singles by Shelbey Miller and Mo Ramsey. Two batters later MSU was the first on the board when Leslie Bridges singled to bring home Miller and make it 1-0. The lead did not last long as the Cardinals (5-2) answered in the bottom of the inning with their own RBI single from Jennifer Gilbert to tie the game at one.

In the third, the Racers moved ahead again on another RBI single, this time from Maggie Glass, that scored Alexa Becker and made it 2-1. However, once again, Ball State and Gilbert answered again with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the third.

In the fourth, the Cardinals took their first lead of the game at 3-2 when Loren Chilar singled down the left field line to drive in Amanda Arnett. This time it was the Racers turn to respond and they did in the sixth when Glass tripled to right field to lead off the frame. The freshman was brought home two batters later on a double by Cayla Levins to tie the game at three. With neither team able to score in the in seventh, the game moved to extra innings with the international tiebreaker in effect.

In the eighth, the Racers were only able to move their runner to third and needed to hold Ball State scoreless in the bottom half of the inning in order to continue the game. That did not happen, as Emily Dabkowski went yard with one out to give her team the 5-3 walk-off win.

Bridges led Murray State in the game by going 3-for-4 with a RBI, while Glass followed at 2-for-4 with a run scored and a run driven in. CheyAnne Gaskey (3-3) went the full 7.1 innings for MSU in the loss, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits with a season-high eight strikeouts.

Game 2 – Murray State 6, Loyola Chicago 1

In game two, the Racers were again first on the board when Alexa Becker belted the 21^st home run of her career and her second of the season to give MSU an early 1-0 lead. The score stayed at 1-0 until the fifth inning when Shelbey Miller reached on a double and crossed the plate in the next at bat on a single by Ramsey to make it 2-0.

The Ramblers cut the deficit in half in the sixth when Lauren Moore launched a sac fly to left that allowed Jessica Balzano to come home and make the score 2-1. In the bottom of the frame, the Racers put away any doubts to the outcome of the game and it all began with a single by Levins. Following a fielder's choice by Taylor Odom, in which Levins was thrown out, Miller and Ramsey singled to load the bases with two outs.

In the next at bat, Becker blew the game wide open when she became the seventh Racer in program history to hit a grand slam to push the score to 6-1. The game also marked the first time in her career that Becker went yard twice in the same game. In the top of the seventh, J.J. Francis entered the game and retired the side in order to seal the win for MSU.

Becker finished the game at 2-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs, while Miller, Ramsey, Glass and Levins also tallied two hits in the contest. Mason Robinson picked up her second win of the weekend to move to 3-0 on the year by allowing only one run on just two hits with two strikeouts over six full innings.

The Racers will close out play in the Blues City Classic on Sunday, when they take on Lipscomb at Noon.