Murray State
Western Kentucky
Players Mentioned
Racers Hit the Road to Take On Western Kentucky
2/26/2019 2:53:00 PM | Baseball
GAME 8
Murray State at Western Kentucky
Feb. 27, 2019
First Pitch:Â Wednesday: 3 p.m.
Series History:Â Murray State leads 71-52-1
Last Meeting:Â WKU 8, MSU 5 - April 18, 2017
Stadium:Â Nick Denes Field
Capacity:Â 1,500
Live Audio
Live Stats
In-Game Twitter:Â @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers hit the road once again for a mid-week matchup with commonwealth rival Western Kentucky. MSU is coming off a 1-2 series with Miami (OH) while WKU won two out of three against Eastern Illinois.
Inside the Series
The Racers and Hilltoppers have met on the diamond 124 time before with most of that coming while WKU was a member of the OVC from 1948-1982. Murray State currently leads the series 71-52-1.
Triple Play
In the eighth inning against Miami (OH), Monday, the Racers pulled off one of the rarest plays in baseball, the triple play. A grounder right down the third-base line allowed MSU to go around the horn to get out of the jam. It was the third triple play in Racer history, previously done on March 8, 2006 at Ole Miss and March 16, 2016 vs. Kentucky State.
Running Wild
The Racers are nearly a quarter of the way to matching last season's stolen base output after stealing eight bases against Memphis, Wednesday to bring them up to a perfect 13-13 this season. The eight stolen bases in one game are the most the Racers have had in a single game in the last 15 seasons.
Quick Start
Ryan Perkins led off the game against Memphis with a home run to right-center field to give the Racers a quick 1-0 lead. Gavin Wehby had the last leadoff home run for Murray State on March 9, 2018 against SIU Edwardsville.
New Faces
In addition to a new coaching staff, the Racers will add 13 new players to the 2019 team.
Fresh Lineup
There will be significant changes to the Racer lineup as they will have to replace seven starters. Senior shortstop Jaron Robinson and junior outfielder/first baseman Ryan Perkins are the only returning starters.
Familiar Rotation
Unlike the lineup, the Racers will return a majority of their pitching staff, including their top nine pitchers in innings pitched in 2018, led by junior Trevor McMurray
Tournament Trip
MSU is looking to make their third straight trip to the OVC Tournament this season. The Racers went 1-2 down at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., defeating Eastern Illinois in the first round.'
Scouting Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers are coming off a series against Eastern Illinois, where they went 2-1. After winning the first two games, they dropped the series final, 8-1.
Western Kentucky was picked to finish 10th in the 12-team Conference USA preseason poll. Southern Miss is projected to finish atop the standings.
Matt Phipps is currently leading WKU with a .391 batting average and also has the only home run for the Toppers this season
Former Racer Davis Sims joined Western Kentucky as a graduate transfer this season and is currently hitting .375 with three RBI and six runs scored.
Probable Starters
Joe Ivey (RHP) (0-0, 12.46 ERA) vs. Hunter Crosby (RHP) (0-1, 0.00 ERA)
