Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
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Kansas
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Players Mentioned
Racers Open 2018 in Big 12 Country
2/15/2018 9:30:00 AM | Baseball
GAMES 1-3
Murray State at Kansas
Feb. 16-18, 2018
First Pitch: Friday: 1:05 p.m., Saturday: 11:30 a.m., Sunday: 1 p.m.
Series History: The series is tied 1-1
Last Meeting: MSU 8, KU 14 – March 16, 2016
Stadium: Hoglund Ballpark
Dimensions: 330 (LF) | 400 (CF) | 330 (RF)
Watch Live: Game one | Game two | Game three
Live Stats
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Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
Murray State begins its fourth season under Head Coach Kevin Moulder. The Racers are coming off their first trip to the OVC Tournament since 2010 last season. Following four consecutive road contests to begin 2018, the Racers will play 11 of their next 12 at Reagan Field beginning Feb. 23.
Inside the Series
The Racers and Jayhawks are meeting for just the second series all-time. The two schools split a two-game matchup in Lawrence back in 2016 as the Racers won the first meeting 14-9 and KU winning the finale 14-8. Ramsey Scott tallied four RBI in those two meetings with the Jayhawks.
Schedule Change
The opening weekend of the season brings the first schedule tweak as Friday's game has been moved up to a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Friday's season opener was originally scheduled for 3 p.m. but was moved due to expected low temperatures in Lawrence.
Freshmen All-Americans
Both Ryan Perkins and Davis Sims were named 2017 Freshman All-Americans last season. Perkins received the honor from the Collegiate Baseball News while Sims was named by three separate publications (NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball News and Perfect Game/Rawlings) and was also the OVC's Rookie of the Year in 2017.
Tournament Trip
MSU is looking to make a return trip to the OVC Tournament this season after advancing to last season's tournament for the first time since 2010. The Racers went 2-2 down at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., and eliminated Southeast Missouri on the third day of the tournament. 2017 was the second consecutive season that the Racers set the program record for conference wins with 15 and the 29 victories last year were tied for the seventh most in program history.
Ramsey's Return
Ramsey Scott returns for his final season in the Blue and Gold in 2018 after playing in just 12 games in 2017 due to injury. The senior slugger was a 2016 First Team All-OVC selection after hitting .335 with 13 home runs and 63 RBI, which ranked fifth and second, respectively in the OVC. Scott's 1.19 RBIs per game that season ranked ninth nationally.
New Faces
In addition to the 16 newcomers (nine freshmen and seven transfers) to this season's squad, the Racers also have an almost entirely new coaching staff in 2018. Cole Brocker, Joe Migliaccio and Andrew Stepp all joined the staff during the offseason.
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks were picked to finish sixth in the preseason Big 12 coaches' poll released in early February. 2017 Freshman All-American James Cosentino, who was a Second Team All-Big 12 honoree last season leads KU. Big 12 Honorable Mentions Jackson Goddard, Rudy Karre and Taylor Turski all return to the 2018 squad.
Kansas must replace a pair of top-10 round picks in last summer's MLB Draft as starter Blake Weiman and closer Stephen Villines were selected in the eighth and 10th rounds, respectively. Shortstop Matt McLaughlin also left the Jayhawks to play pro ball.
Probable Starters
Friday: Trevor McMurray (RHP) (1-1, 10.03 ERA) vs. Jackson Goddard (RHP) (5-4, 4.29 ERA)
Saturday: Peyton Hayes (RHP) vs. Taylor Turski (LHP) (3-4, 3.51 ERA)
Sunday: Luke Brown (LHP) (3-4, 7.02 ERA) vs. Ryan Zeferjahn (RHP) (4-4, 6.19 ERA)
