Murray State University Athletics
Wednesday, May 6
Edwardsville, Ill.
10 a.m.
Murray State
vs
Eastern Illinois
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
Photo by: Patti Twaddle
Softball Hopes To Carry Momentum To OVC Title
5/4/2015 8:43:00 PM | Softball
Tournament: 2015 OVC Championship (May 6-9)
First Opponent: Eastern Illinois
Date (Time): May 6 (10 a.m.)
Site (Venue): Edwardsville, Ill. (Cougar Field)
Video: OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersSoftball
MSU Record (Streak): 36-17, 20-7 OVC (W4)
EIU Record (Streak): 20-25, 14-11 OVC (W2)
All-Time Series vs. UTM (Streak): Â 6-14 [0-1 at neutral sites] (W1)
MSU Next Games: May 7 vs. Jacksonville St./Southeastern Mo. (10 a.m./12 p.m.)
This Weekend's Action
The Racers will travel to Edwardsville, Illinois in search of their first OVC Championship having won nine of its last 10 games and 15 of its last 20. With a 20-7 mark in conference play, MSU earned the highest seed in program history at three and will begin tournament play Wednesday with sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois.
Last Time Out
The Racers dominated their final series of the 2015 regular season by getting the program's first ever season sweep of UT Martin and outscoring the Skyhawks, 23-4, in the series. Murray State's offense was on full display in the series recording three doubles, a triple and two home runs. The pitching for the Racers was on point as well, posting a staff ERA of just 1.05 with a .213 opponent's batting average. Murray State won both games of the Saturday's doubleheader, 8-1 and 6-2, then finished the series with a 9-1, six-inning victory on Sunday.
Series History vs. Eastern Illinois
The Racers are 6-14 all-time against Eastern Illinois, after going 1-2 this season in Charleston. The Panthers are 1-0 all-time against Murray State at neutral sites, with Murray State dropping a 5-4, 10-inning heartbreaker to Eastern Illinois at the 2010 OVC Tournament. However, Murray State would get its post-season revenge on EIU at the 2013 Tournament, with the Racers beating the Panthers, 3-1, on their own field.
Scouting The Panthers
Eastern Illinois took two out of three games with OVC regular-season champions SIU Edwardsville last weekend to finish the season at 20-25 overall and 14-11 in league play.
Catcher Hannah Cole leads the Panther offense with a .360 average and team-highs 24 runs and 12 walks, while Bailey O'Dell follows at a .340 clip and team-highs 39 RBIs and 10 home runs. April Markowski also had a great season for EIU and is hitting .338 and leads her team on the base paths with 10 swipes. In the circle, freshman Jessica Wireman has served as the ace for EIU going 11-12 on the year with a 3.48 ERA and 93 strikeouts.
As a team, EIU is batting .278 and is averaging 3.9 runs on 7.4 hits per game. Pitching wise, EIU has a team ERA of 4.21, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.3:1 and is averaging 4.0 strikeouts per seven innings.
Claiming the Crown
For the first time in program history Murray State captured both the team and individual OVC regular-season batting titles. As a team, the Racers batted .317, while Twaddle turned in a .439 average. In addition to Twaddle, six other Racer starters are currently hitting .300 or better.
Record-Breaking Season
The Racers set new overall and OVC win marks this season at 36 and 20, respectively. The previous records were 34 and 19 set in 2012, but both took more games to achieve.
Slow Start, Strong Finish
Murray State began its 2015 OVC campaign at just 5-5. However, the Racers would go on to win 15 of their final 17 league games to finish at 20-7.
Weekly Record
For the third time this season, MSU swept the weekly OVC honors. Jessica Twaddle hit .571 to claim Player of the Week, while Mason Robinson earned Pitcher of the Week by going 3-0. The 2015 season set a program record by MSU players winning the awards a combined eight times.
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An OVC History Lesson
Murray State is 9-9 all-time in OVC tournament play. The Racers advanced to their first-ever OVC championship game last season, falling to SIUE, 12-1, in six. This season's three seed is the highest in program history. They have also qualified for the tournament in each of their six years of existence.
Next Up
The Racers will player either Jacksonville State or Southeast Missouri on Thursday. Should MSU win it would play at Noon, should it lose it would play at 10 a.m.
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First Opponent: Eastern Illinois
Date (Time): May 6 (10 a.m.)
Site (Venue): Edwardsville, Ill. (Cougar Field)
Video: OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersSoftball
MSU Record (Streak): 36-17, 20-7 OVC (W4)
EIU Record (Streak): 20-25, 14-11 OVC (W2)
All-Time Series vs. UTM (Streak): Â 6-14 [0-1 at neutral sites] (W1)
MSU Next Games: May 7 vs. Jacksonville St./Southeastern Mo. (10 a.m./12 p.m.)
This Weekend's Action
The Racers will travel to Edwardsville, Illinois in search of their first OVC Championship having won nine of its last 10 games and 15 of its last 20. With a 20-7 mark in conference play, MSU earned the highest seed in program history at three and will begin tournament play Wednesday with sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois.
Last Time Out
The Racers dominated their final series of the 2015 regular season by getting the program's first ever season sweep of UT Martin and outscoring the Skyhawks, 23-4, in the series. Murray State's offense was on full display in the series recording three doubles, a triple and two home runs. The pitching for the Racers was on point as well, posting a staff ERA of just 1.05 with a .213 opponent's batting average. Murray State won both games of the Saturday's doubleheader, 8-1 and 6-2, then finished the series with a 9-1, six-inning victory on Sunday.
Series History vs. Eastern Illinois
The Racers are 6-14 all-time against Eastern Illinois, after going 1-2 this season in Charleston. The Panthers are 1-0 all-time against Murray State at neutral sites, with Murray State dropping a 5-4, 10-inning heartbreaker to Eastern Illinois at the 2010 OVC Tournament. However, Murray State would get its post-season revenge on EIU at the 2013 Tournament, with the Racers beating the Panthers, 3-1, on their own field.
Scouting The Panthers
Eastern Illinois took two out of three games with OVC regular-season champions SIU Edwardsville last weekend to finish the season at 20-25 overall and 14-11 in league play.
Catcher Hannah Cole leads the Panther offense with a .360 average and team-highs 24 runs and 12 walks, while Bailey O'Dell follows at a .340 clip and team-highs 39 RBIs and 10 home runs. April Markowski also had a great season for EIU and is hitting .338 and leads her team on the base paths with 10 swipes. In the circle, freshman Jessica Wireman has served as the ace for EIU going 11-12 on the year with a 3.48 ERA and 93 strikeouts.
As a team, EIU is batting .278 and is averaging 3.9 runs on 7.4 hits per game. Pitching wise, EIU has a team ERA of 4.21, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.3:1 and is averaging 4.0 strikeouts per seven innings.
Claiming the Crown
For the first time in program history Murray State captured both the team and individual OVC regular-season batting titles. As a team, the Racers batted .317, while Twaddle turned in a .439 average. In addition to Twaddle, six other Racer starters are currently hitting .300 or better.
Record-Breaking Season
The Racers set new overall and OVC win marks this season at 36 and 20, respectively. The previous records were 34 and 19 set in 2012, but both took more games to achieve.
Slow Start, Strong Finish
Murray State began its 2015 OVC campaign at just 5-5. However, the Racers would go on to win 15 of their final 17 league games to finish at 20-7.
Weekly Record
For the third time this season, MSU swept the weekly OVC honors. Jessica Twaddle hit .571 to claim Player of the Week, while Mason Robinson earned Pitcher of the Week by going 3-0. The 2015 season set a program record by MSU players winning the awards a combined eight times.
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An OVC History Lesson
Murray State is 9-9 all-time in OVC tournament play. The Racers advanced to their first-ever OVC championship game last season, falling to SIUE, 12-1, in six. This season's three seed is the highest in program history. They have also qualified for the tournament in each of their six years of existence.
Next Up
The Racers will player either Jacksonville State or Southeast Missouri on Thursday. Should MSU win it would play at Noon, should it lose it would play at 10 a.m.
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