Softball Welcomes SIU To Racer Field Thursday

Thursday's Game
After moving the doubleheader against Western Kentucky scheduled for Wednesday to April 26, Murray State and Southern Illinois scheduled an impromptu game for Thursday. The two teams will meet again next Wednesday at Charlotte West Field in Carbondale.

Previously On Racer Softball
The Racers took two out of three games from Eastern Illinois last weekend to win the series against the Panthers for just the second time in program history and the first time since 2010. MSU took both games of Saturday's doubleheader, 4-0 and 7-5, but fell in the finale Sunday, 2-0.

Junior Jocelynn Rodgers hit .462 on the week, while tallying a hit in each of Murray State's four games. In addition to leading the team in average, she also led them in power by reeling off a double, two triples and a home run for a 1.077 slugging percentage. Mason Robinson won two out of three games last week while notching complete games in each of her three appearances. She limited opponents to a .230 average on the week and finished with a 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio, as well as solo shutout against EIU.

All-Time vs. Southern Illinois
Murray State picked up the first win in the series last season, 6-4, in the teams' first meeting in Murray. Before the 2015 contest, the Racers and Salukis had met twice previous in Carbondale, with SIU walking away with both wins.

Scouting The Salukis
The Salukis will enter Thursday at 20-11 overall, but lost all three games in their series at Drake last weekend to fall to 5-3 in Missouri Valley play. One of the key components of SIU's success thus far has been its pitching. Southern Illinois is currently allowing 2.52 earned runs per game, are limiting opponents to a .230 batting average and are striking out more batters than they are walking at a 2-to-1 clip. Brianna Jones has won 15 of the 20 games in the circle for the Salukis this season and has a 1.63 ERA, has struck out 98 batters with just 20 walks and is third in the nation in shutouts with eight. Offensively, SIU hits .270 has a team and is led by Shaye Harre's team-high .376 average. Harre also leads the team in hits with 32, runs with 25, doubles with eight, home runs with nine and RBIs with 30.

Weather Forecast
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low-to-mid 60's, although the chance for any rain is low at about 25 percent. Wind should be moderate for the game with sustained winds at 10 m.p.h. and gusts at around 16.

200 & Still Going
When Shelbey Miller broke up Jessica Wireman's no-hit bid in the sixth Sunday against SIU, she became just the second player in MSU history to reach the 200-hit plateau. She is now second all-time in the category, behind Mo Ramsey, who leads with 227.

A Defensive Struggle
When Murray State and SIU clash Thursday, it will be a battle of two Top 25 defenses. SIU will come into the game ranked 23rd in fielding percentage at .972 with 23 errors in 827 total chances. For the Racers, they are currently ranked 21st with 27 errors in 1,004 total chances.

Triples Rising
After not recording a triple until the fourth week of the season, the three-bagger is fast becoming a reliable weapon in MSU's arsenal. The Racers tallied three last week including coming with two in the same game for the second time this year against Memphis. Murray State now averages 0.25 triples per game, a number which ranks 40th nationally, but is currently tops in the OVC.

Up Next
Murray State will return to OVC play with a split home/away weekend. On Saturday, the Racers will make the short drive to Nashville for a doubleheader with Tennessee State, followed by a doubleheader Sunday at Racer Field in Murray with Belmont.

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Players Mentioned

Shelbey Miller

Mo Ramsey

Mason Robinson

Jocelynn Rodgers

Murray State University Athletics