Softball Travels To EIU; Now Plays Sunday-Monday

Opponent: Eastern Illinois
Dates (Times): Mar. 29-30 (1 p.m. & 2 p.m.)
Site (Venue): Charleston, Ill. (Williams Field)
Audio: Network1Sports.com
Video: None
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersSoftball
MSU Record (Streak): 17-10, 4-3 OVC (W3)
EIU Record (Streak): 8-15, 3-4 OVC (W1)
All-Time Series vs. EIU (Streak): 5-12 [4-6 in Charleston] (W1)
MSU Next Games: Apr. 3 vs. Morehead State
MSU Next Home: Apr. 3 vs. Morehead State

This Weekend's Action
Murray State resumes OVC action this weekend when it travels to Easter Illinois for a three-game set that has been moved to Sunday-Monday. The doubleheader will now be played at 1 p.m. Sunday, followed by a single-game on Monday at 2 p.m.

Last Time Out
Murray State picked up its first win over Southern Illinois in three tries with a 6-4 win over the Salukis on Tuesday. The Racers diverged slightly from their usual power game in the contest and instead opted to rely on small ball for the win. MSU came up with six hits in the game, with just two doubles, and took advantage of six walks and two errors by SIU.

Alexa Becker was a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish on Tuesday, with two runs and a double, and also netted a walk to finish the day with a 1.00 on-base percentage. Mason Robinson pitched 6.0 innings in the game allowed just one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts.

Series History vs. EIU
Murray State and Eastern Illinois have met on 17 different occasions with the Panthers holding a 12-5 advantage. In Charleston, the margin is a bit closer at 6-4, with MSU winning the last meeting at Williams Field as part of the 2013 OVC Tournament. In four previous three-game sets, the Racers have won just one, taking two of three games in 2010, and hit have been swept on two occasions in 2011 and 2013.

Scouting The Panthers
Eastern Illinois went 1-3 last weekend in OVC play, dropping both games of a doubleheader to Eastern Kentucky and splitting with Morehead State. The Panthers enter the weekend at 8-15 overall and 3-4 in conference action. The Panthers are currently hitting .283 as a team and are averaging 4.3 runs per game. In the circle, the EIU staff currently has a 5.54 ERA, is limiting opponents to a .322 average and is striking out 4.1 batters per seven innings.

Bailey O'Dell leads the Panthers at the plate with a .425 average and team-highs of 23 runs, eight home runs and 25 RBIs. Michelle Rogers and Jessica Wireman have split time in the circle this season with Rogers going 3-6 and Wireman posting a record of 4-8. Rogers currently sports a team-low ERA of 4.51 and leads in strikeouts with 40, while Wireman's ERA stands at 5.70 with 32 strikeouts.

Tis The Season For The RPI
The first RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) of 2015 was released on Tuesday with Murray State coming in at 103, ranking third in the OVC. SIUE leads all conference teams at 36, while Jacksonville State checked in at 65.

Dead Heat
Shelbey Miller and Alexa Becker are currently tied with former Racer Casey Castile for most doubles in a career with 27. The next double from either player will break the record, however the race will not likely be settled until season's end.

Established 2015
Earlier this season, Alexa Becker became Murray State's first and, currently only member of the 100-100-100 club, meaning she has recorded triple-digit runs, hits and a RBIs over the course of her career. She is the current RBI leader at 116, is second in runs at 122 and third in hits at 162. In addition, she is also the program's all-time home run leader with 32.

Three For Three for Three
In last Sunday's doubleheader against TSU, two different Racers went a perfect 3-for-3 in each game of the doubleheader. In game one, it was Jessica Twaddle and in game two it was Taylor Odom. On Tuesday, Alexa Becker joined the party by going 3-for-3 against SIU.

Double Up
Through 27 games in 2015, Murray State has already turned 20 double plays for an average of 0.74 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.

Next Up
The Racers will not have a mid-week opponent this week and will return to action next weekend at home. On Friday, Murray State will host Morehead State in a doubleheader, followed by Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexa Becker

Casey Castile

Shelbey Miller

Taylor Odom

Mason Robinson

Jessica Twaddle

Murray State University Athletics