Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
20-29, 17-15
Morehead State
11-28, 3-24
Racers Put on Grand Celebration for Senior Day, Defeat Morehead State in Five Innings
5/7/2021 11:55:00 PM | Softball
Murray State hits two grand slams for the first time in program history as they earn a 14-4 five-inning victory over Morehead State on Senior Day
If one were to write a script for the ideal Senior Day celebration, it would probably look similar to Friday night when Murray State softball opened its final series of the 2021 campaign - hosting Morehead State for a single contest at Racer Field. The Racers put up a season-high 14 runs and hit two grand slams for the first time in program history as they cruised to a 14-4 five-inning victory over the Eagles on a gorgeous evening in front of Racer faithful in Murray, Kentucky.
"This is what it's all about. It's about coming out here as a softball family…we got to have all the parents here and things like that – this is what it's about. That's why we do it, and it was a blast," said MSU head coach Kara Amundson.
The Racers put the pedal to the metal in their first offensive opportunity as Murray State took a commanding lead in the early stages thanks to a six-run first inning.
Sierra Gilmore kicked things off when her RBI double scored Lily Fischer to give the Racers a 1-0 lead with one out in the opening frame. Morehead State would issue walks to the next three Racer batters as Logan Braundmeier, Lindsey Carroll, and Bryce Adkinson each earned a free pass, with Adkinson's forcing in the second run of the day. With the bases still loaded, Murray State's all-time leader in grand slams added another to her tally as Lexi Jones cleared the bases for the fifth grand slam of her career as the Racers held a 6-0 lead after one complete. The no-doubter also marked her 25th home run in a Racer uniform as she moved into a tie with Casey Castile for #5 on the program's all-time list.
While the Eagles did cut the deficit in half with three of their own in the top of the second, the Racers picked up right where they left off in the home half as they plated four more runs in response.
Braundmeier laced a double to right center to score Fischer before Adkinson drew yet another bases-loaded walk two batters later to make it 8-3 with just one out in the inning. Jenna Bleiberg capped off the scoring in the second, driving in her first runs of the season when her two-out single up the middle scored a pair to make it 10-3 Racers after two.
Morehead State was able to scratch across another in the third, but the Racers still had a comfortable six-run cushion as the game entered the home half of the inning.
After Tyler Shemwell and Jensen Striegel singled to open the fourth, Lily Fischer was hit by her team-leading 14th pitch of the season to load the bases for Gilmore. One swing of the bat meant four more Racer runs as the Williamsburg, Indiana native launched her fifth home run of season, marking the first time Murray State has hit two grand slams as a team in a single game as they led 14-4 through four innings of action.
Hannah James then retired the side in order in the fifth to bring the contest to an early end as the Racers secured the victory by mercy rule after five frames.
James would notch her eighth win of the season after tossing two and two-thirds scoreless innings in relief. She collected two strikeouts while surrendering just one hit in the outing.
Taylor Makowsky, fanned three batters in two and one-third frames after getting the starting nod in the circle for Murray State.
At the plate, the 14 Racer runs came on nine hits, with Sierra Gilmore leading the way with a perfect 3-3 performance that featured five RBI and three runs scored to accompany the aforementioned double and grand slam. In total, seven different Racers collected a hit in the victory.
The Racers will close the season with a doubleheader on Saturday which has been moved up one hour from the originally-scheduled start time. First pitch will now take place at 12:00 p.m. with both games streaming live on ESPN+.
"This is what it's all about. It's about coming out here as a softball family...we got to have all the parents here and things like that - this is what it's about. That's why we do it, and it was a blast." - HC Kara Amundson on MSU's 14-4 win on Senior Day 🥎 #WeAreRacers🏇 pic.twitter.com/D6OAcMqrKe
— Murray State Softball (@RacersSoftball) May 8, 2021
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: James, Hannah (8-11)
L: SPICER, Lennon (9-18)
Batting:
RBI: GAILOR, Madeline 1 ; KINGERY, Kirya 2 ; KAWALL, Maddie 1
SH: KINGERY, Kirya 1
SF: KAWALL, Maddie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GAILOR, Madeline 1 ; SPARKS, Kelsey 1 ; KAWALL, Maddie 1 ; SPEAR, Trinity 1
SB: GAILOR, Madeline 1 ; SLATER, Peyton 1 ; BOYLE, Erin 1
HBP: SLATER, Peyton 1
Batting:
2B: Gilmore, Sierra 1 ; Braundmeier, Logan 1
HR: Gilmore, Sierra 1 ; Jones, Lexi 1
RBI: Gilmore, Sierra 5 ; Braundmeier, Logan 1 ; Adkinson, Bryce 2 ; Jones, Lexi 4 ; Bleiberg, Jenna 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Striegel, Jensen 1 ; Fischer, Lily 3 ; Gilmore, Sierra 3 ; Braundmeier, Logan 2 ; Carroll, Lindsey 2 ; Adkinson, Bryce 1 ; Jones, Lexi 1 ; Shemwell, Tyler 1
CS: Caple, Jordan 1
HBP: Fischer, Lily 2
