Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Northern Colorado
Players Mentioned
Racers Travel To The Midwest For Spring Break
3/14/2018 4:14:00 PM | Softball
Dates & Time: Mar. 16-18 & Mar. 20
Site (Venue): Arrochoa Ballpark & Billiken Sports Complex
Audio: Mixlr.com/MSU Racers (Non-KU Games)
Audio: KUAthletics.LeanPlayer.com (Fri. & Sat. Games)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MUR Record (Streak): 8-13 (Lost 1)
Racers vs. The Field: 7-2
NOCO Record (Streak): 14-13 (Lost 1)
KU Record (Streak): 17-5 (Lost 2)
WIU Record (Streak): 6-17 (Lost 6)
UMKC Record (Streak): 5-14 (Lost 1)
SLU Record (Streak): 10-9 (Won 1)
MSU Next Games: Mar. 24 & 25 at Eastern Ky. (DH) & Morehead St. (DH)
MSU Next Home: Mar. 30 vs. Jacksonville St. (DH)
This Week
Murray State hits the road for spring break this week and travel to the Midwest portion of the country for six games over four days. The Racers will open their trip with the Rock Chalk Challenge Friday through Sunday in Lawrence, Kansas, followed by a single game at Saint Louis Tuesday. While in Lawrence, the MSU will take on Northern Colorado, Kansas, Western Illinois, UMKC and Saint Louis.
Last Time Out
Murray State went 2-1 last week in its own Racer Classic after having its last two games of the weekend canceled. The Racers picked shutout Rhode Island, 2-0, and rallied to top Oakland in extra innings 7-6 Friday, but fell to Illinois-Chicago in a tough one, 2-1. Lexi Jones led Murray State on the weekend with a .444 average including her team-high fifth home run of the season. In the circle, Olivia Suski went six innings against Rhode Island, allowing just three hits with a career-best seven strikeouts in the combined shutout. Amber Van Duyse appeared in all three game on the weekend and gave up no earned runs on three hits with one strikeout.
Against The Field
Murray State is 7-2 all-time against three of the five teams in the Rock Chalk Challenge, having never faced Northern Colorado or UMKC. MSU is 3-0 all-time against Western Illinois, 3-1 against Saint Louis and 1-1 versus Kansas.
Scouting The Bears
Northern Colorado went 4-2 last week at Utah State's Aggie Invitational and are now 15-14 on the season. The Bears currently bat .236 as a team and are led at the plate by Lauren Paige and Jordyn Wiatrak at .319 and .308, respectively. Wiatrak currently leads UNC in RBIs at 18, while Paige has a team-high four doubles and is tied with Wiatrak in home runs at three. In the circle, Valerie Vidal leads the Bear pitching staff with a 1.75 ERA and a 10-5 record. As a unit, the staff has a 2.77 ERA and limits opponents to a .236 average.
Scouting The Jayhawks
Kansas is off to a hot start this season and will enter their home tournament with an impressive 17-5 record. One of the top 50 offenses in the country, the Jayhawks are currently batting .308 and are led by the duo of Harli Ridling and Jessie Roan who have averages of .414 and .412, respectively. While Tarin Travieso leads the KU pitchers with a 1.64 ERA, Andie Formby has been their No. 1 with a 2.79 ERA and a 7-2 record. As a team, the Jayhawks have a 2.83 ERA.
Scouting The Leathernecks
Western Illinois is now 6-17 on the year after going 0-4 last week at Wichita State. Jasmine Laura is batting .328 to lead a Leatherneck offense that bats .256 as a team, while Hailey Duwa is hitting .323. Megan Lotarski leads WIU in the circle with a 3.29 ERA, 3-5 record and a .292 opponent's average. As a team, Western Illinois gives up 4.25 earned runs per game and allows opponents to hit .308 against them.
Scouting The Roos
After going 1-3 last week at the Jayhawk Invitational, UMKC will enter their second consecutive weekend in Lawrence at 5-14. UMKC currently bats .263 as a team and allows opponents to score 5.83 earned runs per game, while their opponents bat .339 against them. Ashlin O' Brien currently hits .340 on the year for the Roos, while Oliva Fluehr hits .320. In the circle, Lynsey Connor leads UMKC with a 4.95 ERA, a 3-6 record and a 0.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Scouting The Billikens
Saint Louis is 10-9 after going 4-1 in last week's EKU invitational, losing only to the host Colonels Sadie Wise is currently hitting a team-high .387 and is followed by Alyssa Chavez' .375. As a team, SLU is hitting .271, while their opponents are hitting .269. Kaylea Chappelle and Maddie Baalman have been the go-to's for the Billiken pitching staff with ERAs of 3.00 and 3.43, respectively. As a team, SLU gives up 3.71 earned runs per game and records 1.4 strikeouts for every walk allowed.
In Their Own Words With Amber Van Duyse
Both you and your team had a good weekend last week. Five weeks into the season, do you feel like it's beginning to click a little more for you guys as a team?
Definitely, as a team we have been grinding through the first half of the season and putting in the work every week to challenge and push each other. I think this past weekend was a great reflection of what our team has been moving towards in terms of being gritty and playing for each other.
You were uses primarily as a reliever this past weekend. What is the main difference, in softball where true relievers are not common, between starting a game and coming in once it has started?
In my opinion, being a reliever in softball is about being all in for your teammates. Starting a game is a little bit different in that the scoreboard reads "0-0", however as relief, it is completely normal to go in when bases are loaded or during other high pressure situations. It is in those moments that playing for the people to your left and right truly resonates, because the odds are generally against you and it is easy to let negativity creep in. But when I look at my teammates during those high pressure situations, I know they have my back and in those moments I am going to do everything in my power to have theirs.Â
This is the largest pitching staff the team has had since you arrived. Does that put more pressure on you to perform know there are other people waiting for a chance or does it take pressure off knowing that there are people behind you that have your back?
I think that it is a really cool and unique opportunity to have five completely different pitchers to utilize on our staff. We all bring something different to the table and the support within our staff is absolutely incredible. It is a really awesome experience to be able to push one another while knowing that we all have the utmost confidence in one another to perform when we are called on.
What was the primary reason you chose to make Murray State your home away from home three years ago?
It the end of the day I chose Murray State to be my home because family is something that I value. Not only does the Murray State softball team exemplify a family, but the community as a whole is a model of the type of place and people that I want to surround myself with.
Weather Forecast
Temps on Friday in Lawrence will be in the low 70s, while the rest of the weekend will hover around the low 60s. Chance for rain are high on Friday at 61-percent and extremely high on Sunday at 86-percent. On Tuesday, in St. Louis, temps will be in the mid 40s with a 25-percent chance of rain.
Alone At The Top
With her triple against Oakland, Brenna Finck took over sole possession of first in Murray State' all-time triples category with nine. The junior also owns the single-season mark for triples that she set last season with six.
Setting The Standard
Both Olivia Suski and Haven Campbell struck out seven batters against Rhode Island and UIC, respectively, last weekend. The seven strikeouts is a new season high for a Racer pitcher and a career-best for Suski.
Goose Egg
Murray State shutout Rhode Island, 2-0, last week marking the second shutout of the season for the Racers. It was the first combined shutout for Suski, while it was the third for Van Duyse. The game also went down as the third save of Van Duyse's career and second this season.
In The Mix
Select Murray State softball away games, including all games this week that are not against KU will once again be broadcast this season on the internet via Mixlr. Fans can listen, free of charge, on any computer at mixlr.com/msuracers or by downloading the Mixlr app, available on Apple and Android devices, and searching msuracers. The games will be broadcast by MSU softball media relations contact, Parker Griffith.
OK, What's Next?
Next weekend the Racers will head east for their first weekend of conference play. On Saturday, MSU will begin its biannual trip to the other end of the Commonwealth with Eastern Kentucky, followed by Morehead State on Sunday.
