Racers Come up Empty in Tuesday Doubleheader in Clarksville

Tuesday, April 6

Clarksville, Tenn.

2 P.M.

Murray State

14-20, 11-7

Austin Peay

17-8, 12-6

Murray State

Austin Peay

Photo by: Dan Hasko

Racers Come up Empty in Tuesday Doubleheader in Clarksville

4/6/2021 11:40:00 PM | Softball

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

Murray State drops a ten-inning thriller in game one before falling in a high-scoring game two against Austin Peay

Murray State softball visited Austin Peay for a midweek Battle of the Border doubleheader on Tuesday. The Racers came up empty on the trip, dropping a ten-inning contest in game one before falling in a high-scoring nightcap by scores of 4-3 and 12-6 respectively.

Game 1 – Austin Peay 4, Murray State 3 (10 inn.)

The Racers (14-21, 11-8 OVC) opened the scoring in the first inning of the day when a Sierra Gilmore two-out RBI double scored Jensen Striegel to give Murray State a 1-0 lead through the visiting half of the first.

The Governors (18-8, 13-6 OVC) went on to answer back in their half, however, when a Kelsey Gross RBI single leveled the game at 1-1 through one complete.

Murray State reclaimed the lead in the third, plating a run when Lily Fischer's RBI double to right center scored Striegel to give her team a 2-1 advantage.

The dialogue continued in the fifth when Austin Peay made it a new ballgame courtesy of a Lexi Osowski run-scoring double to right as the game was tied at 2-2 through five innings of action.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the top of the sixth when the Racers once again took ownership of a one-run lead thanks to a two-out RBI single off the bat of Taylor Jackson as Murray State found themselves ahead as the contest headed to the bottom half of the sixth frame.

The Racer lead wouldn't last long as a two-out fielding error proved costly, allowing the game-tying run to cross to make it 3-3 entering the final frame.

After scoring runs in three-straight half innings, both sides were blanked in the seventh. Runs would also be hard to come by in extras, but it would be the Governors who finally made the breakthrough when a two-out RBI single from Emily Moore gave APSU a 4-3 victory in the tenth.

Despite coming up on the wrong end of the scoreboard, the Racers generated nine hits with Striegel (2-5, 2 R, 2 SB) and Gilmore (2-4, 2B, RBI) leading the way offensively with two hits apiece.

Hannah James allowed two earned runs over 4.1 innings of work after getting the starting nod in the circle, while Jenna Veber was tagged with the loss despite allowing just one earned run over 5.1 innings in relief. They each recorded two strikeouts in the competition.

Game 2 – Austin Peay 12, Murray State 6

In a game that saw 18 runs on 25 combined hits, the Racers just couldn't keep pace in the end as they dropped the second game of the doubleheader by a score of 12-6.

A two-run home run from Kelsey Gross gave the Governors a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Racers answered back with authority when they posted six runs in the top of the third. Chloe Jacque, Jensen Striegel, Sierra Gilmore, Taylor Jackson, and Lexi Jones all drove in runs in the inning as the Racers owned a 6-2 advantage after their half of the third frame.

Austin Peay cut the deficit in half with just one swing when A Lexi Osowski two-run blast made it 6-4 in favor of the Racers.

The Governors would go on to capture the momentum in a big way in the home half of the fourth when they plated six more runs on four hits and a pair of Racer errors as they took a 10-6 lead into the game's fifth inning.

The Racer bats were held quiet the rest of the way while APSU tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth as they sealed a 12-6 victory over the Racers in the second game of the day.

Logan Braundmeier (3-4, R, SB) paced the offense with three hits, while Gilmore (2-4, 2 RBI, R) and Lindsey Carroll (2-3, 2B, R) each collected two hits apiece.

With three RBI over the two games, Gilmore passed Jenna Bradley's (2010-11) 105 RBI to move into fifth on Murray State's all-time RBI list with 108 in a Racer uniform. Additionally, with two stolen bases in the first game of the day, Jensen Striegel passed Shelbey Miller's (2013-16) 41 to move into third in program history with 42 stolen career stolen bases.

The Racers will return home for a three-game series with Tennessee Tech that begins with a single contest on Friday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky.