James Goes Perfect, Racers Blank Bruins in OVC Doubleheader

Sunday, March 31

Racer Field

1 p.m.

Murray State

14-17, 0

Belmont

19-13, 0

Belmont

Murray St.

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

James Goes Perfect, Racers Blank Bruins in OVC Doubleheader

3/31/2019 9:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score Game 1 (PDF)Box Score Game 2 (PDF)Photo Gallery

The Racers concluded another weekend of Ohio Valley Conference competition by earning a pair of victories in a home doubleheader against Belmont on Sunday afternoon. With wins of 1-0 and 3-0, the Racers would blank the Bruins in the doubleheader sweep, moving to 5-1 to begin conference play in 2019. While the Racers got a pair of outstanding pitching performances on the afternoon, the spotlight would belong to freshman Hannah James, who joined an exclusive group as she tossed just the third perfect game in Murray State history in game one of the doubleheader.

Game 1: Murray State 1, Belmont 0:
Hannah James would start in the circle for Murray State while Brooklin Lee got the nod for the Bruins in game one of the doubleheader. The two pitchers, who have turned in exceptional numbers for their respective sides this season, would go pitch-for-pitch in an epic duel to begin the afternoon.

At the plate, the Racers would put a runner on second in the opening frame after Lillie Goetz singled up the middle and advanced on a wild pitch during the next batter. With two down in the inning, the Racers were unable to push across the run, leaving the score tied at 0-0 through the end of the first.

James would keep the opposition guessing from the opening pitch, striking out a pair of Bruin batters through her first two flawless innings of the ballgame.

At the dish, Murray State would be in business again in the home half of the second when Madison Culver doubled to right center to begin the frame. Lee would work out of the danger once again however, as the Bruins escaped with zeros on the scoreboard after two complete.

Pitching would continue to steal the spotlight in the third, as both teams would go down in order during their opportunities in the following frame.

In the top of the fourth, James continued to display her tenacity in the circle when she capped a 10-pitch battle against Baylee Cook with her fourth strikeout of the competition.

Still searching for the game's first run, Sierra Gilmore would put the Racers on the board in the home half of the fourth after she sent a one-out pitch sailing over the fence in right center. Her fourth home run of the year gave Murray State a 1-0 lead through the end of four innings of action.

Brilliant pitching and mistake-free Racer defense would keep the perfect game intact through the fifth and sixth innings as the Racers clung to a one-run margin upon entering the final frame.

After fanning her fifth batter of the ballgame for the second out of the seventh, James would be just one out away from joining an exclusive club with a perfect game performance. Baylee Cook would drive a 2-2 offering into foul territory down the left field line as the next Bruin batter, but Lillie Goetz would have enough room to make the catch - securing the 1-0 victory and perfect game performance for freshman Hannah James.

The perfect game is just the third in Racer history and the first to go all seven innings. James would become just the second player to accomplish the feat, as both previous perfect games were dealt by Mason Robinson during the 2017 season. James is also the first freshman to go perfect in the circle for Murray State.

Offensively, four Racers would collect hits on the game, but Sierra Gilmore would be responsible for the lone Murray State score with her fourth home run of 2019.

Game 2: Murray State 3, Belmont 0:
In part two of the OVC doubleheader, Taylor Makowsky would continue to deliver effective pitching for the Racers, striking out three Bruin batters through her first two innings of work.

With the game knotted at 0-0 in the home half of the fourth, the Racers would put up the first run of the game when Sierra Gilmore laid down a textbook bunt to score Jensen Striegel from third to give her side a 1-0 lead.

Makowsky would continue her fantastic outing in the following innings, dealing scoreless fifth and sixth frames to bring the Racers back to the plate with a chance to tack on some insurance runs in the late stages of the game.

After Lillie Goetz and Sierra Gilmore would draw back-to-back walks to put a pair of runners on the base paths for Murray State in the sixth, Lexi Jones would plate the second Racer run with an RBI single to left center. Capping a two-run Racer inning, Lindsey Carroll would drive in the second run of the frame with another RBI single, extending the Racer lead to 3-0 through six innings of play.

Needing just three outs to secure a doubleheader sweep of the Bruins, Hannah James would enter the circle to work the seventh inning for the Racers. After an infield single put a Belmont runner on the bases to begin the inning, James would retire three consecutive batters while striking out Baylee Cook for the final out in the 3-0 Racer win.

Lexi Jones (2-3, RBI) would spark the Racer offense in game two, while another phenomenal pitching performance from Taylor Makowsky led Murray State to its third consecutive OVC victory. Makowsky would record six strikeouts in her six innings on the day, allowing just four hits to improve to 4-1 on the year.

James would earn the save in her one inning of action in game two, concluding a memorable afternoon in the circle for the freshman from Nicholasville, Kentucky.

Murray State (15-17, 5-1 OVC) will return to action on Tuesday with a single game against Southern Illinois on the road in Carbondale.