Racers Take Two at APSU

Saturday, April 12

Clarksville, Tenn.

12 p.m.

Murray State

22-18, 9-5

Austin Peay

18-22, 6-8

Murray St.

Austin Peay

Photo by: Sam Sheffer

4/12/2014 8:21:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

| G1 Box Score (PDF) | G2 Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF) |

The Murray State softball team extended its current win-streak to six when it took both games of a doubleheader against Austin Peay on Saturday at Cheryl Holt Field in Clarksville. The Racers edged the Lady Govs in game one, 3-2, before picking up a 12-2, five inning win in the finale.

Game 1 – Murray State 3 (22-18, 9-5), Austin Peay 2 (18-22, 6-8)

Austin Peay wasted little time in getting on the board, as it scored in the bottom of the first on a triple by Lauren de Castro that scored Mel Pavel. Pavel reached base earlier in the inning on a fielder's choice, swapping places with Marissa Lake who led off the game with a walk.

Murray State was quick to respond, however, as Casey Castile led off the frame with a single and advanced to second on a Lady Gov error. Two batters later, Levins brought Castile home on a single to tie the game at one. Jocelynn Rodgers followed Levins with a single of her own, while Erica Howard tallied MSU's third consecutive hit to bring in Leivns and give MSU the 2-1 lead.

The lead did not last long for MSU, as Austin Peay tied things up in the bottom of the third when de Castro scored on a Racer error. De Castro led off the frame with her second hit of the afternoon and advanced to third after a hit by pitch and a ground out.

The next three innings were completely scoreless, but the Racers had their chances. Murray State stranded one runner in the fourth, one in the fifth and three in the sixth. The Racers ended the game with 10 runners left on base, while Austin Peay left nine.

In the seventh, Leslie Bridges led off the stanza with a double and her pinch runner Taylor Odom advanced to third on a sac bunt by Castile. After the next two MSU batters were retired, Levins plated the winning run on a double, before being thrown out at third.

The bottom of the seventh did not start as the Racers wanted, with the first two Austin Peay batters reaching on errors. Both runners were advanced to second and third, respectively, in the next at bat via a sacrifice bunt. With first base open, Murray State took a gamble and put de Castro on base with an intentional walk. However, the game came to a screeching halt in the next at bat as Vincenza DiBenedetto hit a ball to Robinson who tossed it to Rodgers for the out at home. Rodgers then threw the ball to Bridges at first in time to get DiBenedetto and end the game.

Miller led Murray State in the contest by going 3-for-4, while Bridges, Levins and Erica Howard each ended the opener with two. Murray State tallied 12 hits in the game, marking the 12^th time this season that it has had 10-plus hits in a contest. De Castro was 2-for-3 with a walk to lead Austin Peay, accounting for half of the Lady Govs hits in the game.

Mason Robinson went the distance to get the win for MSU and advance to 8-6 on the year. She allowed just one earned run on four hits with only two walks and seven strikeouts. De Castro also took the loss for Austin Peay in the circle to fall to 12-9 after giving up three runs on 12 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Game 2 – Murray State 12 (23-18, 10-5), Austin Peay 2 (18-23, 6-9) - 5 Innings

After a scoreless first inning by both teams, the Racers blew game two wide open in the second with five runs on three hits and two errors by the Lady Govs. Murray State scored two on an error by the Austin Peay shortstop and followed that with a RBI-single from Shelbey Miller to push the score to 3-0. The Racers capped their scoring in the frame when Miller and Erica Howard score on another APSU error, this time by the first baseman.

Austin Peay answered in the bottom of the frame with a run when Rikki Arkansas singled to bring in Laurel Burroughs who reached on an error. However, save for a two-out run in the bottom of the fifth, the rest of the game would belong to the Racers. Murray State added three more runs in the third, two in the fourth and two in the fifth. The Racers finished the game with 13 hits marking just the second time in program history that they have recorded 10-plus hits in three straight games.

Miller led Murray State by going 3-for-4 for the second consecutive game with a run, a double, two RBIs and a stolen base. Casey Castile was also 3-for-4 in the game with two runs, a RBI and a double, while Leslie Bridges went 2-for-4 and plated two runs with her first home run of the season. Jocelynn Rodgers went 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk, while Mallory Young rounded the Racers with multiple hits by going 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI.

CheyAnne Gaskey picked up the win in the finale to improve to 9-10 on the season. She allowed just two runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and only one walk over a five-inning complete game.

The Racers and Lady Govs will return to Holt Field on Sunday for the final game of the three-game series. First pitch in Clarksville is set for Noon.