Racers Close Non-Conference Slate With SIU at Home

Date (Time): April 20 (3 p.m.)
Opponent: Southern Ill.
Site (Venue): Murray, Ky. (Racer Field)
TV: ESPN+ (PxP: Todd Hamilton)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersSoftball
MUR Record (Streak): 30-11 (Won 4)
SIU Record (Streak): 20-16 (Lost 3)
MUR Last Game: W 8-0 [6] (Apr. 16, 2022; Murray, Ky.)
SIU Last Game: L 4-5 at Bradley (Apr. 16, 2022; Peoria, Ill.)
All-Time Series vs. SIU (Streak): SIU leads 10-4 (Lost 4)
All-Time Series in Murray (Streak): SIU leads 2-1 (Lost 2)
First Meeting: L 2-4 (Mar. 21, 2012; Carbondale, Ill.)
Last Meeting: L 0-6 (Feb. 14, 2021; Hattiesburg, Miss)
Last 5 vs. SIU: 1-4 (LLLLW)
Last 10 vs. SIU: 3-7 (LLLLWLLWWL)
Next Games: Apr. 23-24 vs. Southeast Mo.
Next Home Games: Apr. 23-24 vs. Southeast Mo.

The Series
The Murray State softball team wraps up the non-conference portion of its 2022 season Wednesday by hosting Southern Illinois at Racer Field at 3 p.m. Todd Hamilton will bring fans all the action, as the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.

All-Time Series At A Glance
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series between the two regional rivals, 10-4, and have won each of the last four meetings. The two teams have met just three times previous in Murray, with the Salukis holding the advantage in those meetings as well, at 2-1. Wednesday will mark the last time the two teams will meet as non-conference opponents, as the Racers will join the Salukis in the MVC next season.

Scouting The Salukis
The Salukis is 20-16 overall this season and 9-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play. SIU enters Wednesday on a three-game slide, after getting swept in its series with Bradley last weekend in Peoria.

Offensively, Southern Illinois is currently batting .291 on the season, while their opponents are hitting .253. In the circle, the Salukis have a staff ERA of 3.34, while their opponents have limited them to an ERA of 4.8. In addition, SIU pitchers dole out 5.42 strikeouts per 7 innings and have a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.7:1.

Individually, Sarah Harness leads the way for the Tigers in the circle with an ERA of 3.55, a 13-9 record, a shutout, a save, 126 strikeouts and 60 walks. At the plate, Rylie Hamilton leads SIU with a team-high batting average of .379 to go along with 26 RBIs, four home runs and 10 walks.

A Win Wednesday Would...
A win Wednesday would extend MSU's record-breaking home winning streak to 15 games and snap a four-game skid in the overall series with Southern Illinois.

Five For Fanning
Hannah James had a record setting weekend against Tennessee State and it culminated in her fifth Pitcher of the Week honor of the season. On Friday, she pitched 5.0 innings of a 6.0 inning shutout and allowed no runs on one hit with eight strikeouts and no walks. In the opener Saturday, she not only set new single-season and career strikeout marks, but she also tied the single-game strikeout record by fanning 14 batters. James carried a perfect game 6.2 innings before finishing the contest with no runs on just one hit allowed. On the week, James limited opponents to a miniscule .053 batting average, struck out 22, all while allowing no walks over 12.0 innings of work.

A Banner Day
On Saturday, Hannah James made history breaking both the Murray State single-season and career record for strikeouts in the same game, to finish the day with 168 strikeouts on the year and 496 for her career. The previous single-season record of 158, was set by James herself last season, while the previous career record of 490 was set by CheyAnne Gaskey, from 2012 to 2015.

In addition to the single-season and career records, James also tied the MSU single-game strikeout record Saturday by fanning 15 in the first game of the doubleheader. The only other MSU pitcher to strike out 14 batters in a single game was Gaskey, who did so against Saint Louis in 2013.

Racers Breaking Records Like A Broken Record
The win for the Racers was their 14th consecutive at home, setting a new program and Racer Field record. The victory was also the 30th of the season for MSU, marking the fifth in the 13-year history of the program that the Racers have reached the milestone and the first since 2017.

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Players Mentioned

Hannah James

Murray State University