TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 6, Northern Kentucky 5
@Morehead State 8, Northern Kentucky 1 (5)
Murray State 9, @Evansville 5
Murray State 6, @Evansville 2 (6)
MOREHEAD STATE 6, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 5; MOREHEAD STATE 8, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State softball team posted a doubleheader sweep of non-conference opponent Northern Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon at University Field. The Eagles rallied for a 6-5 walk-off win in game one and rolled to a 9-1 five-inning victory in game two.
The Ohio Valley Conference Eagles, who have won six of their last seven contests, improve to 19-19 overall and 9-4 at home. The Atlantic Sun Conference Norse, which has dropped 13 consecutive affairs, slips to 5-33 overall and 4-16 on the road. The twinbill was a make-up from April 8.
Morehead State has already surpassed last year's totals for overall wins (15) and road victories (4) while matching its 2014 sum for home victories (9). The Eagles are also on pace to roll past last season's total for league wins (9). MSU has six more tilts on its regular-season schedule.
Morehead State crossed the dish three times in its final at-bat of game one. Freshman designated player Lindsay Ward opened the frame by launching her third homer of the season. Freshman catcher Robyn Leighton finished the inning with her first collegiate double, which brought home two.
Junior first baseman Dana Hutchins tallied a 3-for-4 performance with one run for the Eagles in the early contest, while Leighton and freshman second baseman Hannah Murphy collected two base knocks apiece.
Freshman right-hander Mackenzie Grossmann improved to 11-7 in her 13th complete game of the campaign. She allowed one walk, five runs and eight hits while striking out seven. The hurler, who fired 119 pitches, has now won five of her last seven decisions. Her season ERA stands at 2.78.
Morehead State jumped out to a 7-0 advantage after two innings in the late contest and never looked back. Ward, Murphy and sophomore shortstop Karly Thompson all crushed dingers for the Eagles. Ward's was her fourth of 2015, while Murphy's was her second and Thompson's was her third.
Eight Morehead State individuals tallied a hit in game two, while eight Eagles scored at least one run. MSU collected double-figure base knocks in each affair en route to 21 for the day.
Senior Tanna Seuferer improved to 8-5 in her fourth complete game of the year. She yielded just one run, three walks and four hits while striking out eight. The hurler tossed 97 pitches.
MURRAY STATE 9, EVANSVILLE 5; MURRAY STATE 10, EVANSVILLE 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Murray State softball team pumped out 19 runs on 24 hits to sweep a non-conference doubleheader, 9-5 and 10-2 in six innings, at Evansville Tuesday evening at Cooper Stadium.
In the opener, Jessica Twaddle got the Racers off to a hot start in the first with her sixth home run of the season with a runner on to give Murray State (29-16) an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Evansville (10-37) cut into the lead with a RBI single from Mariah Ferguson after loading the bases on a lead-off hit and two walks.
The Purple Aces took a 4-2 lead in the second when Danielle Freeman blasted a three-run home run over the wall in right center. Murray State, however, would tie the game with a two-RBI single from Shelbey Miller, after both Alexa Becker and Mo Ramsey reached earlier in the frame on a single as well.
Becker returned to the plate in the fourth to hit Murray State's second home run of the game with two runners aboard to give her team a 7-4 lead. Evansville inched closer in the fifth after Ferguson led off the stanza with a triple and scored in the following at-bat on a RBI-ground out from Susan Norris to make the score 7-5.
Murray State increased its lead to 9-5 in the top of the sixth on another RBI-single, this time by Maggie Glass to Jocelynn Rodgers and Miller, who also reached on singles. The Purple Aces had their chances in both the sixth and seventh, but could not score, as MSU held on for the 9-5 win.
Becker, Miller and Ramsey led Murray State in game one as each tallied three hits. Becker ended the day with three RBIs and two runs, while Ramsey scored three times and Miller scored once and drove in two. Haven Campbell picked up the five-inning relief win to improve to 2-2 on the year, after allowing just one run on five hits with two strikeouts.
In game two, Evansville was first on the board in the opening stanza with an RBI-single from Hayli Scott after MSU put runners on with a single and an error. The Racers finally got going in the third with a two-RBI single from Jessica Twaddle and a sacrifice fly from Maggie Glass to make it 3-1.
In the fourth, the Purple Aces cut the lead to just one, at 3-2, when Morgan Lambert doubled to score Ashlee Kawall, who began the inning with a lead-off single. In the fifth, the bats came alive for Murray State as they scored five runs on five hits including a two-RBI double from Miller and a three-run home run from Kaylyn Zierke, her first as a Racer.
In the sixth, Mo Ramsey picked up her sixth hit of the doubleheader when she singled with two outs. After Jessica Twaddle was hit by a pitch, Miller brought them both home with her second consecutive two-RB double, increasing MSU's lead to 10-2. With UE unable to answer in the bottom of the inning, Murray State picked up the win via the eight-run rule.
Ramsey led Murray State by going 3-for-4 with two runs, marking her third consecutive game with three hits. Twaddle and Miller also had a good game, with each going 2-for-3. Mason Robinson moved to 11-5 on the season with two runs on five hits with strikeouts over five innings of work.