Softball Tops Illinois, Falls To Winthrop

Saturday, February 7

Athens, Ga.

10:30 a.m.

Murray State

2-1

Illinois

0-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Murray St.	0	2	2	0	1	0	0	5	8	2
Illinois	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	3	4	0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Murray St.	0	0	0	1	4	0	1	6	10	0
Winthrop	0	2	0	0	4	2	X	8	10	1

Photo by: Greg Jocelyn

2/7/2015 10:42:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Murray State softball team split the second day of the 8^th Annual Red & Black Showcase Saturday at Jack Turner Stadium in Athens, Georgia. The Racers began the day with a 5-3 win over Illinois, but fell in the nightcap, 8-6, to Winthrop.

Game 1 - Murray St. 5, Illinois 3
In game one, Murray State (2-2) was first on the board in the second when Mallory Young drove in Jessica Twaddle, who began the frame with a walk, with a single to the catcher. Cayla Levins made it 2-0 later in the frame with a ground out that allowed Maggie Glass to cross the plate.

In the third, Glass made it 4-0 with a two-run homerun, the first by a Racer this season. After two walks and a single in the bottom half of the inning, Illinois cut the deficit in half with runs on a fielder's choice and a wild pitch.

In the top of the fifth, Alexa Becker made it 5-2 with MSU's second long ball of the game, this time a solo shot to right center. The Illini (0-3) added a run in the bottom of the inning, but that would as close as they would get, as Murray State held on for the 5-3 win.

Twaddle was 1-for-2 in the game with two runs and two walks, while Jocelynn Rodgers was 1-for-1 with a double and two walks. Maggie Glass also had a good day, as she went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and a home run.

Mason Robinson went the full seven for Murray State to move to 1-0 on the young season. She allowed just two earned runs on four hits over seven innings of work.

Game 2 – Winthrop 8, Murray St. 6
Winthrop was first on the board in game two as Paige Hayley hit a two-run double, before getting thrown out a third, to give the Eagles (3-2) an early advantage. In the fourth, however, Rodgers cut the lead to 2-1 with a double that drove in Glass.

In the fifth, Shelbey Miller tied the game after she scored when Alexa Becker reached on an error. Later in the inning, Rodgers hit her second double of the game to clear the bases and give Murray State a 5-3 lead.

Winthrop would go on to score five unanswered runs, including a go-ahead three-run homerun in the fifth, to push the lead out to 8-5. MSU attempted a rally in the top of the seventh, but an RBI groundout from Rodgers was not enough, as the Racers fell 8-6.

Rodgers finished the game at 2-for-4 with five RBIs and two doubles, while Cayla Levins and Erika Downey were 2-for-3 and 2-for-4, respectively. Twaddle finished the game officially at 1-for-1 with a stolen base but reached base three additional times with two walks and a hit by pitch.

The Racers will close out play in the Red & Black Showcase Sunday when they get a return game with Winthrop. First pitch from Jack Turner Stadium in Athens in scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CST.