Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Illinois State
Players Mentioned
Racers Return Home For Racer Classic
3/8/2023 10:15:00 PM | Softball
MSU has now won seven of last eight games
Dates (Times): Fri., Mar. 10 (12:30 p.m.; 3 p.m.), Sat., Mar.11 (12:30 a.m.; 3 p.m.),
Event: 2023 Racer Classic
Site (Venue): Murray, Ky,. (Racer Field)
Opponents: Illinois State, Youngstown State
TV: ESPN+ (Fri.)/ESPN3 (Sat.) (PxP: Todd Hamilton)
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
MUR vs. Field: 0-1 (Illinois St. 0-1)
The Weekend
The Murray State softball team returns home Friday and Saturday to host the 2023 Racer Classic against Illinois State and Youngstown State at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky. Friday's Murray State games will air on ESPN+, while Saturday's games will be on ESPN3.
Against The Field
Murray State is 0-1 all-time against this weekend's opponents with the lone contest coming as a loss in 2017 at Illinois State. Despite Murray State and Illinois State both being members of the Missouri Valley Conference this season, this weekend's games will be counted as non-conference contests as they are not a part of the official MVC schedule.
The Opponents
• Illinois State: Illinois State is currently 5-14 on the season after going 2-3 at last week's Owl Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. Emme Olsen leads the Redbird offense with an average of .361, while Delainey Bryant follows at .340. In the circle, Hannah Ross is 1-5 with 3.06 ERA and 26 strikeouts.
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• Youngstown State: The Penguins fell at Memphis Wednesday evening and are now 6-9 on the year. Sara Fesler currently sports a team-best batting average at .391, while also leading the team in doubles with six. Devan Ryan is currently 3-3 in the circle for the Penguins with a 1.56 ERA, while Sophie Howell is also 3-3 with 50 strikeouts.
Notes
• The Murray State Racers put together a 4-1 week at the 2023 Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament, including a win over host Mississippi State.
• The win over the Bulldogs was the first for the Racers over a SEC program since 2012. In the finale, however, the Bulldogs got their revenge in eight innings and ended Murray State's seven game winning streak.Â
• Gracie Osbron drove in eight runs while hitting .429 last week over four games. The senior had two doubles, a home run, five runs and three walks, despite sitting out one of the games.
• Jenna Veber allowed just one earned run over 14.0 innings of work to go 2-0 on the week. The junior struck out six while issuing no walks and allowing only 14 hits for an opponent's batting average of .246.
• Murray State is currently third in the nation in hit batters, hitting only two thus far this season. Alabama A&M and Hartford currently lead Division I with one hit batter each.
• Lily Fischer is seventh in the nation in doubles at eighth and 27th in doubles per game at 0.42.
