Racers Win Pitchers’ Duel, Slugfest In Carbondale

Sunday, March 5

Carbondale, Ill.

3 p.m.

Murray State

14-4

Illinois-Chicago

9-8

Ill.-Chicago

Murray St.

Photo by: Patti Twaddle

3/5/2017 9:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UIC BOX SCORE (PDF)SIU BOX SCORE (PDF)SEASON STATS (PDF)

The Murray State softball team won two very different games Sunday at Southern Illinois' Charlotte West Stadium during the Coach B Classic in Carbondale. The Racer edged Illinois-Chicago, 1-0, in the opener and then held on for the 8-7 win against SIU in the finale. The two wins Sunday gives MSU a 4-0 record in the tournament and pushes their overall record to 15-4 on the season.

Game 1 – Murray St. 1, Ill.-Chicago 0
Murray State struggled early with Illinois-Chicago pitcher Elaine Heflin, not getting a hit until the third inning. Meanwhile, the Flames also struggled with MSU's Mason Robinson scratching just three hits over the course of the game. Both teams had chances in the game, but had trouble plating runs as they each stranded seven runners in the contest.

The breakthrough in the game for Murray State came in the fifth when Kristen Bialek led off the frame with a bunt single. Bialek then moved to second on a sacrifice from Erika Downey and to third on a single from Brenna Finck. Standing at third during Kaylee Ranburger's at bat, Bialek took off for home after the ball got behind catcher Kaleigh Nagle and slid in for the score.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Mason Robinson clamped down in the final two innings and gave up just one base runner over the final two frames for the win.

Bialek finished the game a 2-for-3 with a run, while Cayla Levins was also 2-for-3. Robinson improved to 10-2 with the complete game shutout by giving up no runs on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Heflin took the hard-luck loss for UIC by giving up one unearned run on seven hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

Game 2 – Murray St. 8, Southern Ill. 7
In game two, the Racers put together one of the more impressive first innings in program history exploding for eight runs on seven hits and a SIU error in the frame. Taylor Odom had the highlight of the inning when she blasted her team-high fifth home run to drive in three runs. Brenna Finck also came up big in the stanza driving in two runs of her own on a single.

Despite getting in a 8-0 hole early, the Salukis wasted little time in chipping away at the lead with a RBI-single from Merri Ann Patterson and run scored by Eyrika Brandenburg on a MSU error in the bottom of the first. In the third, Southern Illinois cut the lead to 8-4 on a two-RBI single by Katelyn Massa.

In the fifth, the Salukis pulled within two on a home run by Shaye Harre, after a leadoff single from Susie Baranski. In the sixth, Brandenburg came up big for SIU with a two-out double that scored Maddy Vermejan to cut the lead to just one, at 8-7.

In the seventh, the Salukis threatened thanks to a single from Patterson and a walk by Massa. With two outs and two runners on, Vermejan sent a scorcher out to left field, however Cayla Levins rushed over to grab the ball and give her team the 8-7 win.

Finck led MSU in the game by going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Levins and Madison Culver came up with two hits each. Haven Campbell struck out five over the first four innings of the game to earn the win, while Amber Van Duyse earned the first save of her career by allowing just two hits over the final three frames.

Next weekend, the Racers will host their first-ever home tournament, the 2017 Racer Classic. Participating teams include Northern Illinois, Saint Louis, Austin Peay and the Racers. All 10 games of the classic will broadcast live and free of charge on OVCDigitalNetwork.com.