Racers Sweep Day 1 Of Coach B Classic

Saturday, March 4

Carbondale, Ill.

4 p.m.

Murray State

12-4

Northern Illinois

7-5

Murray St.

Northern Ill.

Photo by: Patti Twaddle

3/5/2017 12:22:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 NIU BOX SCORE (PDF)WIU BOX SCORE (PDF)SEASON STATS (PDF)

The Murray State softball team improved to 13-4 on the season with a pair of wins Saturday at the Coach B Classic hosted by Southern Illinois at Charlotte West Stadium in Carbondale. MSU opened play in the event with a 7-3 win over Northern Illinois, before picking up a 4-3 win over Western Illinois in the nightcap.

Game 1 – Murray St. 7, Northern Ill. 3
Northern Illinois took an early 1-0 lead in the contest by capitalizing on a pair of miscues by Murray State. Jessica Rio began the game by reaching on an error and later scored on another MSU error, after being advanced to second on a single from Kayti Grable.

However, in the second, the Racers negated the early score by exploding for seven runs in the frame on four hits and three errors by the Huskies. The highlight of the inning came from Jessica Twaddle as she cleared a bases loaded situation for MSU with a triple. Three of MSU's four other runs in the frame came on NIU errors, with the fourth coming on a RBI single from Kristen Bialek.

Northern Illinois would go on to add two more runs in the sixth, but it would be nowhere near enough, as MSU picked up the 7-3 win.

Taylor Odom led Murray State in the opener by going 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI, while Twaddle followed at 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Cayla Levins also had a solid day for the Racers as she was 2-for-2 with a run and a walk. Mason Robinson notched her ninth complete game of the season and moved to 9-2 on the year by allowing no earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

Game 2 – Murray St. 4, Western Ill. 3

Despite being outhit 8-4 in the game, Murray State proved they only needed two of those, as the Racers did their damage on a pair of two-run home runs from Maggie Glass and Cayla Levins in the second and fifth, respectively.

Holly Hoelting struck first for Western Illinois in the first with a RBI single that gave her team an early 1-0 advantage. After Glass' home run in the second, Nina Maggio tied the game for WIU in the fifth by scoring on a MSU error after a sacrifice bunt went awry. In the very next at bat, Hoelting put the Leathernecks back on top, 3-2, with a long ball of her own.

After Glass reached on an error in the bottom of the fifth, Levins brought both home with a home run in the following at bat, to cap the scoring at 4-3. In the top of the seventh, relief pitcher Mason Robinson struck out the side to help her team hold on for the 4-3 win.

In addition to the hits by Glass and Levins, Taylor Odom and pinch hitter Maddy Feeney also tallied hits in the game with both going down as singles. In the circle, Haven Campbell improved to 4-2 on the year with the win after allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks over 5.2 innings of work. Robinson earned the first save of her collegiate career in the game by allowing no runs on just one hit with three strikeouts and no walks over 1.1 innings of relief action.

The Racers will conclude play in the Coach B Classic Sunday with Illinois-Chicago at 3 p.m., followed by the host Salukis at 5 p.m.