The Racer softball team kicks off its season Feb. 15-17 at the Bulldog Battle in Starkville, Miss. After going 6-2 in the fall season, Murray State is looking to start off its spring season strong.
The Racers will play Mississippi State, Northwestern State, Lipscomb and Western Kentucky. A number of teams in the tournament are in the SEC and are ranked in the top 100 of the rating percentage index.
Head Coach Kara Amundson believes these teams will be solid competition for the Racers.
She sees the teams as a challenge, but very possible for the Racers to beat.
“It’s going to be some really close games,” she said. “Games where I think that we can come out on top.”
Amundson and the team said playing against high ranked teams for its first weekend and tournament of the season will be beneficial for them.
Senior Shelby Kosmecki from Somerset, Ky., said she sees the tournament as a way for the freshman players to adjust to a large tournament atmosphere. She believes the other teams will be tough competition, but not impossible for the Racers to compete with and potentially beat.
“We can definitely compete,” she said. “We’re seeing some good things in practice and everything’s coming along.”
With the tough competition in the tournament, Amundson’s main goal for the tournament is for the team to go out there and compete.
“We’re going to have to come to play,” she said. “We’re going to have to be ready to compete.”
Amundson hopes the Racers play hard in this tournament as well as the first couple tournaments of the season.
The Racers will play in four tournaments before they begin conference play on March 16.
Amundson sees these tournaments as a test for the team to see where they are before they kick off the conference play part of the season.
“If we can be successful in some of these different atmospheres that we’re playing early on, I know we’re going to be just fine in conference,” Amundson said.
The team had a very strong fall season record and has continuedto work hard in practice to lay everything out on the line during games.
“If we do that every game, we’re going to be a really successful team this year,” Amundson said.
The following weekend, the Racers will head to Fayetteville, Ark., for their second tournament of the season. Their first game will be Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. and the tournament runs through Feb. 24.
Story by Megan Kavy, Staff writer.