Racers Swept by EIU

Sunday, March 30

Racer Field

2 p.m.

Murray State

Eastern Illinois

Photo by: Neal Head

3/30/2014 7:47:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

| Game 1 Box Score (PDF) | Game 2 Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF) | Photo Gallery

The Murray State softball team fell in both games of a doubleheader to Eastern Illinois on Sunday at Racer Field; 7-1 in game one and 3-0 in game two.

Game 1 – Eastern Illinois 7 (22-9, 3-2 OVC), Murray State 1 (15-15, 4-3)

Murray State pitcher CheyAnne Gakey began the series opener like a house on fire retiring the first six batters in order, with five by way of the strikeout. However, in the third inning, EIU exploded offensively by scoring four runs on four hits and one Murray State error. Brooke Owens began the barrage with a two-RBI double and was followed by a sacrifice fly from Reynae Hutchinson and a RBI single from Hannah Cole.

Despite hits in the first and second, the Panther were able to keep the Murray State bats fairly quiet, holding them scoreless for the first four innings. In the fifth inning, Casey Castile broke up the shutout and made history by becoming the first Racer to hit a home run at the new Racer field and cutting the score to 4-1 in the process.

However, that would be almost all of the offensive production in the game for Murray State, as the Panthers limited MSU to just one hit in the sixth and the seventh innings combined. In the seventh, Eastern Illinois tacked on three more runs with back-to-back triples Carly Willert and Owens and a sacrifice fly from Hutchinson to cap the scoring at 7-1.

Shelbey Miller tallied two of MSU's four hits in the game, while also swiping two bases. Castile scored the only Racer run in the contest and finished the day at 1-for-2 with an RBI. Owens led EIU in the game by going 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs.

EIU's Hanna Mennenga improved to 13-2 on the year with the complete game win, in which she allowed just one run on four hits with four strikeouts. Taking the loss for Murray State was Gaskey (7-8), who allowed four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and six strikeouts over seven complete innings.

Game 2 – Eastern Illinois 3 (23-9, 4-2 OVC), Murray State 1 (15-16, 4-4)

In game two, despite posting a complete game win in the opener, EIU's Hanna Mennenga proved equally as effective as she went the distance to shutout the Racers in the day's finale. Mennenga limited Murray State to just five hits in the game, while striking out six and walking just two.

The Racers were not without their chances in their contest, but their inability to push runs across the plate resulted in eight runners left on base in the game. Murray State even had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, but could not convert. MSU finished the game by going just 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

Eastern Illinois split up its offense in the game by scoring one run each in the second, fifth and seventh innings. After reaching on a double earlier in the second, Hannah Cole scored what went on to be the game-winning run by capitalizing on a wild pitch by MSU's Mason Robinson. Jeanette Isaac made it 2-0 in the fifth with double down the left field line, while Bailey O'Dell scored the final run of the day by belting her third home run of the season in the seventh.

Mo Ramsey was 2-for-4 in the game, while Alexa Becker, Leslie Bridges and Casey Castile also had hits in the contest. O'Dell was the only Panther with multiple hits, as she was 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI.

Robinson pitched a complete game for the Racers, but fell to 6-6 on the year with the loss. She allowed three runs on six hits in the contest with no walks and three strikeouts.

The two teams will return to Racer Field on Monday to finish the three-game set. First pitch is scheduled for Noon.