Murray State University Athletics
Murray State to Take on Belmont in MVC Opener
3/12/2025 10:00:00 AM | Softball
Murray State to Take on Belmont in MVC Opener.
The Murray State Racers (8-11) travel to Nashville, Tenn. for a 3:30 p.m. CT Missouri Valley Conference opener against the Belmont Bruins (16-7).Â
The Racers are coming off of hosting the Racer Classic where they split a pair of contests against Cleveland State and Akron. Several Racers had standout performances on the weekend, including sophomore catcher Taylor Franzen. With a weekend batting average of .556, she recorded five hits in nine at-bats and posted a pair of RBI. Â
Kenley Minor continued to be a leader at the plate as well, finishing the weekend with a .615 batting average, a 1.000 slugging percentage, and a .667 on-base percentage. On 13 at-bats, Minor tallied eight hits, six RBI, three doubles, and a triple. She also added a pair of walks and eight putouts.
Bre Haislip collected a pair of wins in the circle, improving her record to 3-5 on the season. The junior had a weekend ERA of 1.35 and gave up just two earned runs in 13.1 innings.    Â
Ailey Schyck continues to be one of the top hitters in the MVC with seven home runs on the season(second in the MVC) and a conference-leading .765 slugging percentage. The junior is batting .314 with 16 hits and 16 RBI. Â
This will mark the 37th matchup of all time between the Racers and Bruins. Murray State fell in the most recent game 0-2 on Tuesday, April 16 2024 at Racer Field. The Inaugural matchup between the long-time rivals took place on Sunday, March 14 2010 in Nashville, Tenn. The Racers came away with a 10-2 victory.         Â
Belmont sits atop the MVC standings prior to the start of conference play. Riding a five-game winning streak, the Bruins are the highest-ranked MVC squad in the RPI at 33. They feature a pair of wins over Big 10 opponent Maryland, another Big 10 win over Purdue, and a Big 12 win over Arizona State. Â
Emily Cockrill has been the leader at the plate for the Bruin, leading the team with a batting average of .373 and 20 RBI. Nicole Hughes (.368) is tied with Cockrill with 25 hits and seven doubles to lead the team. Maya Johnson is ninth in the nation with an ERA of 0.81. She has allowed just seven runs, all earned.  Â
Following this midweek contest, the Racers will return home for their opening MVC series against Bradley starting on Friday, March 14.Â
Follow the Racers on Twitter (@MSURacers), Instagram (@RacersAthletics), and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Murray State Athletics. Follow Murray State softball on Twitter and Instagram (@RacersSoftball).
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