Racers Look To Stay Hot At Austin Peay

Saturday, April 12

Clarksville, Tenn.

12 p.m.

Murray State

Austin Peay

Photo by: Sam Sheffer

4/11/2014 4:15:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes | Live Stats & Video Links

Date (Time): April 12-13, 2014 (12 p.m. DH Sat.; 12 p.m. Sun.)
Opponent: Austin Peay
Site (Venue): Clarksville, Tenn. (Chery Holt Field)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MSU Record (Streak): 21-18, 8-5 OVC (W4)
Austin Peay Record (Streak): 18-21, 6-7 OVC (W2)
All-Time Series vs. Austin Peay (Streak): MSU leads 7-4 overall; 2-1 in Clarksville (W4)
MSU Last Games: W 9-3, W 9-3 vs. Evansville (Apr. 11, 2014)
MSU Next Games: Apr. 18 at Eastern Ky. (DH)/Apr. 19 at Morehead St. (DH)
MSU Next Home: Apr. 26 vs. SIU Edwardsville (DH)

Winners of six of their last eight games, the Murray State softball team will look to keep up its current momentum when it travels to Austin Peay for a three-game series. The Racers will take on the Lady Govs in a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a single-game on Sunday.

The Racers swept a doubleheader with regional rival Evansville Thursday at Racer Field with identical 9-3 scores in each game. Evansville jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in game one, but Murray State all but put the game away in the third when it scored seven runs on six hits. A seven-spot was also the Racers' key to game two, this time accomplishing it in the second, as they won the second by the same score as the first, 9-3.

Mo Ramsey had a big afternoon for MSU, as she went 5-for-7 on the day, including a perfect 3-for-3 in game two. She also finished the day with two RBIs, two runs, a walk and a stolen base. Two Racers went yard on the afternoon with Jessica Twaddle launching her third of the season in the first game and Mallory Young getting her first collegiate home run in the second.

J.J. Francis picked up both wins for Murray State on the afternoon, improving to 6-2 the season by tossing the final four frames of each game. She gave up just one run on six hits with five strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .214 average over eight full innings.

Murray State and Austin Peay have met 11 previous times, with the Racers holding a 7-4 advantage. Currently, Murray State is on a four-game win streak in the series, sweeping the final two games of 2012's 3-game set and both games last season. The two teams have played just one series in Clarksville prior to this season, with Murray State taking two out of three games in 2011.

Austin Peay will enter the weekend with an 18-21 record and a 6-7 mark in OVC play. The Lady Govs won a mid-week non-conference match-up with Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, 8-0 in six innings at home. Austin Peay tallied seven hits in the game with Kayla Davidson, Laurel Burroughs and Kristin Whitmire recording two each. Lauren de Castro earned the shutout in the game by allowing four hits over six scoreless innings with two strikeouts and a walk.

De Castro is also the leading hitter this season for the Lady Govs, batting .400 on the season with team-highs of 20 runs, 40 hits, five home runs and 24 RBIs. She is also Austin Peay's go-to-gal in the circle with a 12-8 record, a 3.29 ERA, 81 strikeouts and a .247 opponent's average. As a team, APSU is batting .232, while allowing opponents to bat .324. Pitching wise, the Austin Peay staff has a total ERA of 5.05, while opposing teams have turned in an ERA of 2.78.

Live stats will be available for all three games with links posted at GoRacers.com.