Racers Rally Past Samford, Can’t Repeat Against UAB

Saturday, February 25

Birmingham, Ala. (UAB)

11 a.m.

Murray State

10-2

Samford

3-10

Murray St.

Samford

Photo by: Patti Twaddle

2/25/2017 10:01:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 SAMFORD BOX SCORE (PDF)UAB BOX SCORE (PDF)SEASON STATS (PDF)

The Murray State softball team found itself down in both of its games Saturday at the 2017 Samford/UAB Classic at Mary Bowers Field in Birmingham, Alabama, though the two games ended with very different results. The Racers were able to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the opener against Samford to beat the Bulldogs, 3-2 in eight innings, however, in game two the offense never got going and MSU fell, 4-0, to UAB,

Game 1 – Murray St. 3, Samford 2 (8 Inn.)
Samford wasted little time getting on the board in the first inning, as Madison Couch and Shelby Maze led off the frame with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice bunt from Abby Sweeney moved the pair over, Abbie Miranda brought the duo home on a single to centerfield to make it 2-0, Samford.

In the top of the second, Madison Culver cut the lead in half on the first pitch of the stanza with a home run that went over the wall in left center to pull the Racers within one at 2-1. Despite nine baserunners over the next five innings, the Racers were unable to push any across the plate and still trailed the Bulldogs 2-1, headed to the seventh.

With one out in the seventh, Jocelynn Rodgers gave MSU another chance at extending the game with a double that was hit well to centerfield. Maggie Glass would walk in the following at bat before Rodgers' pinch runner Kristen Bialek was moved to third after tagging up on a fly ball by Culver. With Bialek at third, Cayla Levins tied the game at two with an RBI-single just when the Racers needed it the most. After MSU was unable to add any other runs in the top of the seventh, they retired Samford in order in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings.

With the international tie-breaker in effect, Leah Kesel was placed at second base to begin the eighth. Kesel was then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Erika Downey and eventually scored on a RBI-single from Kaylee Ranburger. In the bottom of the eighth, Samford once again went down in order, giving Murray State the 3-2 extra-inning win.

Haven Campbell got the complete game win for Murray State to move to 3-1 on the year by allowing just two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks over eight innings of work. Jessica Twaddle was 2-for-5 in the game, while Levins was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a walk.

Game 2 – UAB 4, Murray St. 0

The game was scoreless for the first three innings until Molli Garcia singled in the fourth. Garcia would advance on the base paths thanks to an error and would eventually score on a passed ball to make it 1-0, Blazers. The Blazers added three more runs in the fifth on a pair of errors and a two-RBI double from Joanna Fallen that capped the scoring at 4-0.

The Racers threatened in both the sixth and the seventh but in both cases left two runners stranded, for a total of seven in the game, and fell, 4-0. The game marked the first time this season the Racers were shutout, as the ended the day at 10-3 on the year.

Ranburger and Levins led MSU in game two by each going 2-for-3, while Robinson took the loss in the circle for Murray State and fell to 7-2 on the year. She allowed four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

On Sunday, the Racers will close out play in the 2017 Samford/UAB Classic with Iowa State at 9 a.m. and Indiana at 11 a.m. Play Sunday will move back across town with both games taking place at Samford's Bulldog Softball Field.