Racers to Meet Ball State, Jacksonville In Florida

Date: March 11-13
Site (Venue): Jacksonville, Fla. (Pruitt Softball Complex)
Audio: Mixlr.com
TV/Web Stream: None
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MSU Record (Streak): 6-8 (L3)
BSU Record (Streak): 10-12 (L4)
JU Record (Streak): 12-11 (L1)
All-Time Series vs. BSU (Streak): Ball State leads 1-0 (L1)
MSU Next Games: Mar. 16 vs. Evansville (DH)
MSU Next Home: Mar. 16 vs. Evansville (DH)

This Week
Murray State will look to end its three-game skid when it travels to Jacksonville, Florida for four games this weekend on the campus of Jacksonville University. The Racers will play two against Ball State on Friday and Saturday and two against Jacksonville on Saturday and Sunday. The game with BSU on Friday was a late addition to the schedule, with both teams adding it their slate on Thursday morning.

Previously On Racer Softball
After sweeping Bryant on Friday, the Racers dropped their final three games of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic with two losses to Indiana and one to third-ranked Auburn. No loss was more frustrating, perhaps, than the final loss to Indiana, when the Hoosiers won the game, 1-0, in walk-off fashion with a single.

Junior Twaddle tallied at least one hit in all five games last week, in addition to hitting for the cycle on the weekend for a slugging percentage of .923 and walking twice for an on-base percentage of .533. Junior Cayla Levins followed by hitting .333, including a 2-for-3 performance in the second game against Indiana. Junior Mason Robinson went 1-2 on the weekend, despite posting a 1.00 ERA and a team-high eight strikeouts. Sophomore Haven Campbell went 1-1 including a complete game solo shutout in which she gave up just four hits.

All-Time vs. The Field
Murray State has never faced Jacksonville and has taken on Ball State just one time previous. In the only other meeting, MSU fell, 5-3, in eight innings at Memphis' Blues City Classic in Southaven, Mississippi in 2013.

Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals are coming off of a three-game, mid-week stint at UCF where they dropped one game to Illinois State and two to the 25th-ranked host Golden Knights, leaving them at 10-12 on the season.

Ball State is currently batting .274, while slugging .472 and notching an on-base percentage of .339. Junior Rachel Houck and freshman Madison Lee lead the way for BSU, as each currently has a battling average of over .400 at .439 and .419, respectively. Houck also leads the team with 20 runs, eight doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs.

Pitching wise, the BSU staff has an ERA of 6.37, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.2:1 and an opponent's average of .323. Senior Nicole Steinbach leads the way for the Cardinals in the circle with a 7-5 record, a 3.72 ERA, 53 strikeouts, 28 walks, all while limiting opponents to a .275 clip.

Scouting Jacksonville
The Dolphins are 12-11 overall and are coming off of a mid-week split with George Mason in which they won the opener, 5-1, but dropped the finale, 11-6. Senior Victoria Brown led JU in the doubleheader by going 4-for-7 with four runs, two RBIs, two doubles and a stolen base. Brown also get the win in the circle in game one, allowing just one run on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Sophomore Danielle Baker currently leads Jacksonville with a .328 average and a team-high five home runs, while Brown follows at .277 and leads JU with 20 RBIs. Brown also serves as the team's pitching ace and is currently 8-6 with a 2.61 ERA and 46 strikeouts.

As a team, offensively, the Dolphins are currently hitting .239 with a .345 on-base percentage and a .384 slugging percentage. Pitching wise, the Jacksonville pitching staff has 3.87 ERA with a .291 opponent's average and a 1.3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Weather Forecast
With a high of 80° F everyday this weekend, the Racers can expect picture perfect Florida weather for their trip to the Sunshine State. There will be just a 25 percent chance of rain on Saturday and a 30 percent chance on Sunday, with winds at 10-13 m.p.h. and gusts of between 22-25 m.p.h.

The First Century
Murray State head coach Kara Amundson won her 100th game on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Bryant. She is now 101-78 for her career in just four seasons.

Athletics With A Porpoise
One of this weekend's opponents will be Jacksonville University, which has one of the more unusual mascot names in college athletics, the Dolphins. JU is just one of three NCAA schools, and the only Division 1 program, to use the Dolphin moniker. The other two are LeMoyne College in Division II and the College of Staten Island in Division III, both of which are located in New York state.

Zeroes For Days
In Saturday's 6-0 win over Campbell, sophomore Haven Campbell notched Murray State's second complete game shutout of the season and the first of her career.

In The Mix
Select Murray State softball away games, will once again be broadcast this season on the internet via Mixlr. Fans can listen, free of charge, on any computer at mixlr.com/msuracers or by downloading the Mixlr app, available on Apple and Android devices, and searching msuracers. The games will be broadcast by MSU softball media relations contact, Parker Griffith.

Up Next
On Wednesday, the Racers will play at home for the first time this season when they host Evansville in a doubleheader that is set to begin at 4 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haven Campbell

Cayla Levins

Mason Robinson

Murray State University Athletics