Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
#5 Indiana State University
Racers Enter Inaugural MVC Championship as Fourth Seed
5/10/2023 3:55:00 PM | Softball
Murray State softball will play Indiana State in their first ever MVC Championship game
Date (Time):Â May 11 (1 p.m.)
Opponent:Â #5 Indiana State
Site (Venue):Â Carbondale, Ill. (Charlotte West Stadium)
TV:Â ESPN+ (PxP: R.C. McBride & Kerri Blaylock)
Live Stats:Â GoRacers.com
Twitter In Game:Â @RacersSoftball
MUR Record (Streak):Â 33-20 (Lost 2)
Indiana State Record (Streak):Â 30-24 (Won 5)
MUR Last Game:Â L 2-3 vs. Missouri State (May 7, 2023; Murray, Ky.)
Indiana State Last Game:Â W 4-1 vs. Valparaiso (May 10, 2022; Carbondale, Ill.)
All-Time Series vs. Indiana State (Streak):Â MUR leads 3-1 (Won 2)
All-Time Series in  MVC Tournament (Streak): First Meeting
First Meeting:Â W 11-3 (Feb. 25, 2012; Bowling Green, Ky.)
Last Meeting:Â W 4-3 (Apr. 23, 2023; Terre Haute, Ind.)
Last 5 vs. Indiana State:Â WLWW-
Next Game: May 12 vs. #1 Northern Iowa OR #8 Drake (1 p.m.)
In a Nutshell
Murray State softball travels to Carbondale, Illinois, for their inaugural Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The Racers got a first-round bye as the fourth seed after going 17-10 in conference play and will face fifth-seed Indiana State in their first game.
Scouting Indiana StateÂ
Indiana State is on a five-game win streak with a series sweep over Valparaiso last weekend. They stretched the sweep to the fourth game as the Sycamores beat the Beacons in the tournament's first round.
Isabella Henning leads the Sycamores' offense with a .389 batting average. She has a 1.145 OPS with 35 RBIs and 41 runs.Â
Lexi Benko took charge from the circle with a 2.32 ERA and a 13-8 record. Lauren Sackett leads the Sycamores in strikeouts with 118.
Series at Glance
This will be the fourth meeting between Murray and Indiana State. Three of the four meetings occurred this season when the Racers took the series at Terre Haute, 2-1. The Racers currently lead the series 3-1.
This game will be the second meeting on neutral grounds between the two teams after their first meeting in 2012. Murray State won the first meeting 4-3.
Looking ahead
With the first-round bye, the Racers will head to the semifinals with a win over Indiana State. MSU will play the winner of first-seed Northern Iowa versus number-nine Drake.
