Softball Travels To Belmont; Hosts TSU

Opponents: Belmont (DH) & Tennessee St. (DH)
Dates (Times): Mar. 21 & 22 (12 p.m. & 1 p.m.)
Site (Venue): Nashville, Tenn. (E.S. Rose Park)/Murray, Ky. (Racer Field)
Audio: None
Video: OVCDigitalNetwork.com (Sat. Only.)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersSoftball
MSU Record (Streak): 13-9, 1-2 OVC (L3)
BEL Record (Streak): 5-16, 0-2 OVC (L10)
TSU Record (Streak): 8-15, 1-2 OVC (L3)
All-Time Series vs. BEL (Streak): 8-2 [2-2 at Belmont] (W2)
All-Time Series vs. BEL (Streak): 9-2 [2-2 in Murray] (W3)
MSU Next Games: Mar. 24 vs. Southern Illinois
MSU Next Home: Mar. 24 vs. Southern Illinois

This Weekend
The Racers will continue OVC play with their annual split weekend. On Saturday, MSU will travel to Nashville to play Belmont, then return home to host Tennessee State on Sunday. Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for a Noon start, while Sunday's will begin at 1 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Racers gave 13th-ranked Kentucky all it wanted Tuesday, but was ultimately swept in the doubleheader, 5-2 and 1-0. In game one, UK used three home runs to power past the Racers, despite a gutsy seven-strikeout performance by CheyAnne Gaskey. The Racers got five hits in the contest, with two coming from Jocelynn Rodgers, but left six stranded on the base paths.

In game two, Murray State survived eight walks and left nine 'Cats stranded, but could not convert on any of its eight base runners or the fact it out hit UK , 4-2, and was ultimately edged, 1-0. Mason Robinson took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished the game with seven strikeouts in a complete game performance.

Series History vs. Belmont
Murray State will head into Saturday's doubleheader holding a 8-2 advantage in the series. The Racers swept last season's doubleheader in Murray, but split the last time the two teams met in Nashville in 2013. MSU is 2-2 all-time at E.S. Rose Park, splitting pairs of games in 2010 and 2013.

Scouting The Bruins
Belmont enters Saturday at 5-16 overall after dropping a doubleheader at Memphis Tuesday. In OVC play, Belmont is 0-2 after losing both games on opening weekend to Eastern Kentucky. The Bruins currently hit .224 as a team and have a 7.75 staff ERA in the circle.

Kat Hollingsworth leads the Bruins at the plate with a .333 average, to go along with a team-high of 12 runs, 18, hits, 13 RBIs and five doubles. Taylor Moon has served as Belmont's ace this season and has a 2-10 record, a 5.30 ERA and a team-high 38 strikeouts.

Series History vs. Tennessee State
The Racers are 9-2 all-time against Tennessee State and have won each of the last three games in the series, including both games of last season's doubleheader in Nashville. On Sunday, the Tigers will make their first visit to Murray since 2013, when they split with the Racers, giving MSU a 3-1 advantage.
Scouting The Tigers
Tennessee State is coming off of a doubleheader loss at home Wednesday to Lipscomb, giving them an overall record of 8-15 heading into the weekend. Last weekend, the Tigers won one just one game in their OVC opening series against Tennessee Tech, giving them a 1-2 mark in league play.

Kailey Richard and Courtney Geralds currently lead TSU with batting averages of .333 and .325, respectively. Richard leads the team in RBIs with 12, while Geralds leads in runs at 14. TSU is currently hitting .281 as a team and has a team ERA of 6.26. In the circle, Taylor Green has been the go-to this season logging a 5-6 record with a 7.91 ERA and a team-high 32 strikeouts.

All Good Things…
In the first game against Kentucky, both of Jessica Twaddle's record streaks came to a close after she failed to reach base in the game. Her hitting streak ended at 19 games while the reached base streak reached an impressive 37 games, dating back to 2014.

Double Up
Through 22 games in 2015, Murray State has already turned 19 double plays for an average of 0.86 per game and currently lead the nation in that category. The Racers turned just 16 in all of last season and the most they have ever turned is 20 in 2012 with the fewest coming in 2012 at eight. Last season, Utah led the nation in double plays and double plays per game at 46 and 0.84, respectively.

A New Queen
With four hits last weekend at SIUE, Mo Ramsey became the new all-time Murray State hits leader with 182, breaking Megan Glosser's record of 180. Glosser also holds the season record for hits with 72 in 2012, while Ramsey is second with 63 in 2014.

Streaking Is Back In Style
After breaking the school record for a reached base streak earlier this season, a streak that is still alive and well at 37, Jessica Twaddle did it again last weekend. With a hit against SIUE, Twaddle extended her current hit streak to 18 games, breaking Megan Glosser's previous record of 17. The streak currently stands at 20 as she has hit in every game this season.

Next Up
The Racers step away from OVC action to host a single game Mach 24 with regional foe Southern Illinois. First pitch between is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Racer Field.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

CheyAnne Gaskey

Mo Ramsey

Mason Robinson

Jocelynn Rodgers

Jessica Twaddle

Murray State University Athletics