Racers Fall in Extras to Close Opening Weekend

Sunday, February 10

Troy, Ala.

10 a.m.

Murray State

0-5

Maryland

2-3

Murray State

Maryland

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

2/10/2019 6:04:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

The first twelve batters of the game were retired in order to start the Sunday morning competition between Maryland and the Racers of Murray State. Logan Braundmeier continued her strong start to the season recording the first hit of the ballgame with a leadoff single to open the third inning. After advancing to second and third on two consecutive bunts, she would come around to score by way of a sacrifice fly to right center off the bat of Brenna Finck.

Hannah James continued to cruise through the Maryland batting order as she recorded twelve straight outs to open the day before finally surrendering a run in the bottom of the fifth. Gracie Voulgaris drove in Sammie Stefan on a single up the middle and tied the game at 1-1 for the Terrapins through five innings of play.

After a scoreless sixth inning from both sides, the Racers had an opportunity to take the lead in the seventh after a leadoff double from Madison Culver. However, with runners at the corners and two out in the inning, the Racers were unable to push across the go-ahead run.

Grace Vaughn came on to pitch the seventh for MSU and allowed just a single hit, facing four batters and stranding the lone Maryland runner on first to force extra innings.

A sacrifice bunt from Brenna Finck in the Racer half of the eighth pushed the placed runner to third to set up the go-ahead score. Denise Teague then stepped up to the plate and put the ball in play to score Jensen Striegel from third to make it 2-1 in favor of the Racers.

The Terrapins would now have their turn to answer in the home half and started with two quick outs. With the game on the line and down to their final opportunity, Taylor Wilson came on to pinch hit and gave her team life with a single to left. They would follow with another single and wind up with runners on the corners. The following batter would be a face that the Racers were all too familiar with on the weekend. Anna Kufta, who had produced a multi-hit performance against the Racers in the season opener on Friday, stepped up to the plate and laced a walk-off two run double to left center to give the Terrapins a 3-2 victory in extra innings.

Madison Culver (2-3, 2B) and Lindsey Carroll (2-3) led the charge for the Racers offensively while Hannah James capped off the weekend with another solid pitching performance. She carries a 2.68 ERA through her 15.2 innings of work to start the 2019 campaign.

From Coach Amundson
"Overall, we were really happy with some things we saw this weekend. The softball season is a long one and we are definitely seeing this as a really good start. We saw a few good things in the circle and from new people contributing this weekend. When you can truly compete with a team ranked ninth in the country (Alabama) for seven innings, as well as a few other high points, it's a decent start. We would have liked coming home with a few in the win column, but we are already excited about next weekend and being able to get back on the field."

Reflecting on the Weekend
Despite an 0-5 start, the Racers saw positive things in many areas. In addition to solid pitching performances from Hannah James, Logan Braundmeier posted a team-high .357 average while scoring four runs on the weekend while newcomer Lindsey Carroll contributed three runs of her own. Finally, the ability to compete with top teams in the country showcased the potential for this season's squad. In MSU's first game on Saturday, a 16-10 loss to Alabama, proved just this as the Racers were able to put up double digits in the run column – something the Crimson Tide allowed just three times all of last season, all of which were against SEC opponents.

Looking Ahead
The Racers return to action on Friday at 3:30 p.m. as they take on Butler as part of the Madeira Beach Invitational in Madeira Beach, Florida.