Murray State
Illinois State
Racers to Close Regular Season Against Redbirds
5/1/2025 5:01:00 PM | Softball
Murray State to Host Illinois State for Alumni Weekend, Senior Day
Dates (Times): May 2 (2:00 p.m. CT), May 3 (2 p.m. CT), May 4 (12:00 p.m. CT)
Opponent: Illinois State
Site: Racer Field
Stats: GoRacers.com
Streaming: ESPN+
Murray State Softball (20-25,10-14 MVC) is set to close out its Missouri Valley Conference regular season with a weekend series against the Illinois State Redbirds (21-28,14-10 MVC) at Racer Field in Murray, Ky. The Racers are hosting their Alumni Weekend and will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday
Friday will mark the seventh all-time meeting between the Racers and the Redbirds. Illinois State holds a 5-1 edge in the all-time series and won two of three matchups in the 2024 season, including an 8-2 win in the series finale. Murray State currently sits ninth in the MVC standings while the Redbirds are four games ahead in fourth place. Â
Illinois State is coming off a series loss to Northern Iowa that saw them salvage a 5-4 win on Sunday.  The Redbirds are seventh in the MVC with a .258 team batting average and are fifth in the league with 337 hits. Abby Knight leads the team with a .350 batting average and is second in the MVC with 56 hits on the season. Delainey Bryant is second on the team with a .303 batting average and leads the team with four home runs, while Addison Masching leads the team with 21 RBI.
The Rebirds' pitching staff is fourth in the MVC with a 3.53 combined ERA. Hannah Meshnick (10-10) features a team low 3.26 ERA and leads the team with 148.1 innings pitched and 72 strikeouts on the season, and a .261 opponent average.
Last weekend, the Racers were able to leave Carbondale, Ill. with a win after a narrow 5-4 Sunday victory. The Racers jumped ahead early, going up 5-0 in the opening innings before SIU clawed back into the game. Leading 5-4 in the final inning, the Racers were able to escape despite having runners on second and third with two outs.Â
Freshmen Katy Huels and Kenley Minor have been among the Racers' leaders at the plate this season. Huels is second on the team with a .329 batting average and has started all 45 games. The duo is tied to lead the team with 12 multiple-hit games on the season, and Huels features four games with three hits, while Minor has the Racers' only five-hit game of the year. Huels features a 17-game hit streak, the longest for any Racer this season and the second longest in program history. Minor leads the team with her .336 batting average, nine doubles, and 51 hits on the season.
As a team, the Racers have an ERA of 4.35 with four different pitchers having multiple starts. Bre Haislip (6-11) leads the team in innings pitched (117.2) and strikeouts (65) and has the lowest ERA among Racer starters at 3.51.  Freshman Karlye Graber (7-9) features an ERA of 3.93 across 28 appearances and ten starts. Opponents are batting just .265 against her across 84.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Raylee Roby (6-3) features a 4.93 ERA across 61.0 innings pitched and was named MVC Pitcher of the week after picking up two wins in the circle and not allowing a single earned run across 12.2 innings during the Racers' series against Evansville.
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).Â
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