Racers Come Back to Capture Series Win Over Panthers

Sunday, April 13

Cedar Falls, IA

12 p.m.

Murray State

16-23, 0

Northern Iowa

23-13, 0

Murray St.

Northern Iowa

4/13/2025 3:28:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Rd2 Tee Times Live Scoring

Murray State Defeats UNI 8-6

By: Charlie Williams

The Murray State Racers (16-23, 6-12 MVC) defeated the UNI Panthers (23-13, 11-5 MVC) 8-6 in comeback fashion to claim their second straight series win on Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Winners in five of their last seven, the red-hot Racers remain half a game behind Valparaiso in the Missouri Valley Conference standings in tenth after beating the third-place Panthers.

The Racers won the hitting battle 13-5 and committed fewer errors with three compared to five for the Panthers, including two in the final inning. None of Murray State's eight runs were earned due to the UNI errors.

After a scoreless first inning, the Panthers came on strong in the bottom of the second. UNI put up five runs on the inning, with three coming via a three-run homer to left from Skylar Benesh. The Racers responded with a pair of runs in the following inning. Taylor Franzen got the Navy & Gold on the board by scoring on a throwing error and Parker Holcombe drove in Kenley Minor with a single down the right-field line to make it 5-2.

Katelyn Callahan added another run for the Panthers in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 6-2 before the Murray State comeback began. Ailey Schyck began chipping away in the fifth by scoring Parker Holcombe on a groundout and Kayleigh White added one more with an RBI single that drove Summer Ray home. Taylor Franzen scored on an error again in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to just one entering the final inning.

With Murray State trailing 6-5 in the seventh inning, Taylor Franzen continued to deliver in the clutch. The junior catcher collected a pair of RBI on a single that put the Racers ahead 7-6. She then capped off the inning by scoring another run to make it 8-6 on a play that saw Kenley Minor reach base on the Panthers' fifth error of the afternoon.

Franzen and Parker Holcombe led the Racers with two RBI each as Franzen went 2-3 with a double and three runs scored on the day and Holcombe went 1-4 with a walk. Riley Jestadt went 3-4 with three singles at the plate and Bailey Broemmer was 2-3 with a double. Kenley Minor was 2-5 on the day with one RBI and a stolen base, her tenth of the season. Katy Huels, Hannah Sutton, and Kayleigh White had one each as Huels extended her hit streak to 14 games.

Karlye Graber (6-8) got the win after relieving starting pitcher Raylee Roby (3-3). The freshman pitched five and one-third of an inning, allowing just two hits and one earned run while striking out five.

Anna Wischnowski (13-6) was the losing pitcher, going four and two-thirds innings in relief despite allowing no earned runs. Skylar Benesh led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-4 with three RBI and a home run.

Murray State softball returns to Racer Field April 18-20 for a weekend series against Evansville. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT with the following games scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and 12 p.m. CT.

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).