Murray State University Athletics
Wednesday, May 11
Oxford, Ala.
5:30 p.m.
Murray State
23-30
0
vs
5
Jacksonville State
38-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Murray St.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
Jacksonville St.
0
0
2
0
0
3
X
5
8
4
Photo by: Patti Twaddle
Timely Hits Elude Racers In OVC Tournament Opener
5/11/2016 8:13:00 PM | Softball
The eighth-seeded Murray State Racers fell to top-seed Jacksonville State, 5-0, in the opening round of the OVC Tournament Wednesday evening at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
The Racers had an opportunity to get on the board in the third, after Leah Kesel led off the inning with a walk and then moved to third on an error by Jacksonville State that also allowed Shelbey Miller to reach second. In the next at bat, however, both runners would be tossed out at the plate and MSU would also be unable to score Brenna Finck, who also reached third base, before the inning ended.
In the bottom of the same inning, Emily Church led off the frame with a double and was scored in the following at bat on a home run from Leila Chambers that gave the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Church would get her own two-run home run to extend her team's lead to 4-0. Ella Denes pushed the lead out to 5-0 later in the inning on a single that scored Chambers, who reached on a walk after the home run.
With one out in the seventh, Kesel got on board via a Jax State error and moved to second on a single by Miller. However, neither would score and Murray State would fall to the Gamecocks, 5-0.
Murray State certainly had it its chances in the contest with four hits, two walks and four errors by Jax State, but ended the game stranding a total of nine base runners. The Racers were just 2-for-14 with runners on in the game, 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-7 with two outs.
Mason Robinson went 5.2 innings in the circle and took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Offensively, Jessica Twaddle led the Racers by going 2-for-2 with a walk, while Jocelynn Rodgers and Miller also had hits in the game.
The Racers will return to Choccolocco Park Thursday to take on the fifth seed UT Martin in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m.
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The Racers had an opportunity to get on the board in the third, after Leah Kesel led off the inning with a walk and then moved to third on an error by Jacksonville State that also allowed Shelbey Miller to reach second. In the next at bat, however, both runners would be tossed out at the plate and MSU would also be unable to score Brenna Finck, who also reached third base, before the inning ended.
In the bottom of the same inning, Emily Church led off the frame with a double and was scored in the following at bat on a home run from Leila Chambers that gave the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Church would get her own two-run home run to extend her team's lead to 4-0. Ella Denes pushed the lead out to 5-0 later in the inning on a single that scored Chambers, who reached on a walk after the home run.
With one out in the seventh, Kesel got on board via a Jax State error and moved to second on a single by Miller. However, neither would score and Murray State would fall to the Gamecocks, 5-0.
Murray State certainly had it its chances in the contest with four hits, two walks and four errors by Jax State, but ended the game stranding a total of nine base runners. The Racers were just 2-for-14 with runners on in the game, 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-7 with two outs.
Mason Robinson went 5.2 innings in the circle and took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Offensively, Jessica Twaddle led the Racers by going 2-for-2 with a walk, while Jocelynn Rodgers and Miller also had hits in the game.
The Racers will return to Choccolocco Park Thursday to take on the fifth seed UT Martin in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Whitney Gillespie (15-1)
L: Robinson, Mason (18-15)
Batting:
SH: Miller, Shelbey 1 ; Howard, Erica 1 ; Feeney, Maddy 1
Batting:
2B: Emily Church 1
HR: Emily Church 1 ; Leila Chambers 1
RBI: Ella Denes 1 ; Emily Church 2 ; Leila Chambers 2
SH: Jordan Bullock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hayley Sims 1 ; Emily Church 1 ; Anna Snider 1 ; Leila Chambers 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
U
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballIF
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