Racers Earn Convincing Victory Over Eastern Kentucky in Home Opener

Saturday, March 13

Murray, Ky.

5 P.M.

Murray State

6-12, 3-1

Eastern Kentucky

11-4, 3-1

Eastern Kentucky

Murray State

Photo by: Justine Ertl - Murray State Athletics

Racers Earn Convincing Victory Over Eastern Kentucky in Home Opener

3/13/2021 11:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Season-high 12 hits fuel the Racers to five-inning mercy-rule win

Murray State softball returned to Racer Field for the first time in 685 days when they made their 2021 home debut against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday evening. The homecoming was a sweet one, as MSU cruised to a 10-2 five-inning victory behind a season-high 12 hits in front of Racer faithful in Murray, Kentucky.

"To think that we haven't played on our home field in an actual game in that long is mind-blowing to me…It was everything we could have hoped for coming back here," said MSU head coach Kara Amundson.

Hannah James got the nod in the circle for the Racers, and showed she was in complete control from the game's first pitch – striking out the side to begin the ballgame.

Feeding off that energy would be the Racer bats, as Logan Braundmeier opened the game with a lead-off double, and would later come around to score the first run of the contest on a ground ball off the bat of Lily Fischer. A one-out RBI single from Sierra Gilmore in the following at-bat would score Jensen Striegel, as the Racers posted a crooked number in the first to lead 2-0 after one.

After another 1-2-3 inning in the EKU half, the Racer offense picked up where they left off when Kamryn Carcich opened the frame with a triple. Carcich and Chloe Jacque both crossed the plate on a two-RBI single from Logan Braundmeier later in the inning, before Braundmeier came in to score via Fischer's one-out sacrifice fly to right field as the Racers owned a 5-0 advantage after two complete.

Eastern Kentucky grabbed one back in the third, but the Racers answered in the fourth with three more scores of their own, beginning with a two-run double from Sierra Gilmore. An RBI double from Lindsey Carroll in the next at-bat extended the Racer lead to 8-1 through the end of the fourth.

EKU cut into the deficit with a single run in the visiting half of the fifth, but the Racers would end the contest early with a pair of runs in the bottom half. Braundmeier's two-out RBI single scored Jordan Caple to make it 9-2, before Braundmeier scored the game-ending run off a pinch-hit single from Jordan Childress to give the Racers a 10-2 mercy-rule victory in five innings.

"Everyone's a doing a part of the puzzle, and that's going to be big for us as we continue on," added Amundson.

Hannah James earned her fourth victory of the year in the circle, tying a season-high with eight strikeouts while allowing just three hits on the day.

At the plate, the Racers saw seven different players collect a hit, while Carroll, Gilmore, Striegel, and Braundmeier each posted multi-hit performances with Braundmeier leading the way with a three-hit outing. Braundmeier's four runs scored also ties a Murray State single-game record, while her and Gilmore also each drove in three runs apiece.

The Racers conclude the weekend series against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Racer Field in Murray, Ky.

"To think that we haven't played on our home field in an actual game in that long is mind-blowing to me...It was everything we could have hoped for coming back here."

Head Coach Kara Amundson's thoughts on the 10-2 Racer victory in the home opener🥎#WeAreRacers🏇 pic.twitter.com/N0f04Rb74L
— Murray State Softball (@RacersSoftball) March 14, 2021