Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southern Illinois
Players Mentioned
Racers Wrap-Up Non-Conference at Memphis
4/16/2018 12:53:00 PM | Softball
Date & Time: Apr. 18 (5 p.m.)
Opponent: Memphis
Site (Venue): Memphis, Tenn. (Tiger Softball Complex)
Video: GoTigersGo.com
Audio: None
Live Stats: GoRacersLive .com
MSU Record (Streak): 10-29, 0-10 OVC (Lost 7)
MEM Record (Streak): 30-14, 6-6 AAC (Lost 2)
All-Time Series vs. TTU (Streak): MEM leads 5-4 (Won 3)
MSU Next Games: Apr. 21 at Tennessee State (1 p.m.)
MSU Next Home: Apr. 28 vs. Eastern Ill. (1 p.m.)
The Game
The Murray State softball team closes out its 2018 non-conference slate when it travels to Memphis Wednesday for a single-game at 5 p.m.
Last Time Out
Murray State fell in both games of Friday's doubleheader at Tennessee Tech, losing 5-1 in game one and 5-4 in game two, marking the Racers' ninth one-run loss this season. The game two loss came as Murray State opened the contest with four runs, but were not able to hold on, thanks in large part to two home runs by TTU's Raegan Sparks, who also had one in game one. Brenna Finck and Madison Culver led Murray State on the day, as each were 3-for-7 at the plate.
The Memphis Series
The Racers took on Tennessee Tech earlier this season at the Trojan Classic in Troy and walked away with the biggest win in program history, a 21-0, five-inning victory over the Golden Eagles. The win set the program single-game marks for runs with 21 and RBIs with 17 and also extended MSU's all-time lead in the series to 13-9. Murray State has now won two games in a row in the series and is an impressive 8-2 all-time in Cookeville.
Scouting The Tigers
Despite dropping two games to UCF last weekend, Memphis has already reached the 30-win plateau this season and is 30-14 on the year. The Tigers are hitting .317 on the year and are led by Kyler Trosclair, who is batting .413 with team-highs of 32 RBIs and eight triples. In the circle, Memphis gives up an average of 2.18 earned runs per game and allows their opponents to hit just .217 against them. Molly Smith has serves as the Tigers' ace this season and is 18-5 on the tear with a team-low ERA of 1.77 and a team-high of 176 strikeouts, compared to just 50 walks.
Weather Forecast
The high Wednesday in Memphis is expected to be around 75 with a small chance of rain at 18-percent. The wind, however, will be substantial, sustaining at around 16 mph with gusts of up to 22 mph.
Keeping It Close
Despite Murray State's struggles this season, the majority of MSU losses have been extremely close with only six losses coming by five or more runs with the largest margin being eight. In fact, 18 of MSU's losses year have been by three or less runs, including nine by just one.
OK, What's Next?
Murray State stays in Tennessee this weekend for the final four games of a seven-game swing through the Volunteer State. The Racers will travel to Tennessee State Saturday, followed by Belmont Sunday.
