Softball Beats EIU In OVC Opener

Wednesday, May 6

Edwardsville, Ill.

10 a.m.

Murray State

37-17

Eastern Illinois

20-26

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Eastern Ill.	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	7	0
Murray St.	2	1	3	0	1	1	X	8	13	0

Photo by: Patti Twaddle

5/6/2015 1:35:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

The Murray State softball team got home runs from Jessica Twaddle and Maggie Glass, as it opened play in the 2015 OVC Softball Championship with a 8-4 win over Eastern Illinois, Wednesday morning at Cougar Field in Edwardsville, Illinois.

The Panthers (20-26) reeled off three hits in the opening stanza of the contest to take an early 2-0 lead on Murray State. April Markowski was first to cross the plate on a Bailey O'Dell single, who then scored herself on a sacrifice bunt from Kylie Bennett.

In the bottom of the inning, Mo Ramsey got things started for the Racers (37-17) with a single to the shortstop. In the next at bat, Twaddle proved why she was named OVC Player of the Year and tied the game with her eighth home run of the season. Murray State increased its lead to 3-2 in the second, when Glass led off the inning with her team-high 14^th home run of the season.

In the third, Murray State pushed its lead to 4-2 when Shelbey Miller doubled to score Twaddle, who reached on a single. Two batters later, after Jocelynn Rodgers was hit by a pitch, Maggie Glass made it 6-2 when she tripled to the right field fence, scoring both base runners.

With two outs in the fifth inning, Rodgers singled to get on board and was then pinch ran for by Maddy Feeney. Feeney got all the way to third during Glass' at bat, thanks to a wild pitch and a passed ball by the EIU battery. Feeney then scored after Glass hit a slow roller to the pitcher and beat out the run to first.

Murray State continued to pad its lead in the sixth when Ramsey scored Becker on her third single of the day, after Becker tripled with two outs. In the top of the seventh, EIU began the inning with two straight singles from Bennett and Hannah Rachor. The duo eventually scored on a double form pinch hitter Taylor Miokoivc, but the rally stopped there, as MSU held on for the 8-4 win.

Glass was a double shy of the cycle in the game, going 3-for-3 with a run and four RBIs. Mo Ramsey went 3-for-4 on the day with a run and a RBI, while Twaddle was 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs.

CheyAnne Gaskey moved to 19-9 with the win by tossing her 12^th complete game of the season. She allowed four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and only one walk.

The Racers now advance on the championship side of the tournament bracket and will play the winner of No. 2 Jacksonville State and No. 7 Southeast Missouri at 12:30 Thursday.