The Murray State softball team picked up its first win in dramatic fashion on Saturday night, with a 5-4 victory over Northwestern State as part of Mississippi State’s Bulldog Battle in Starkville.
The Lady Demons (5-2) opened the scoring in the contest when Tara McKinney scored off of a botched fielder’s choice in the top of the first to give her team an early 1-0 advantage. The Racers (1-1) were able to answer in the bottom of the frame when Leslie Bridges singled up the middle to score Alexa Becker and tie game at one.
Northwestern State extended its lead in the top of the third when Brianna Rodriguez launched a two-run bomb. Cheyenne DelaGarza made the score 4-1 later just two batters later when she launched a long ball of her own over the left field fence.
The Racers were able to cut the lead to 4-2 in the fourth inning when Christian Cox hit a single to left field that allowed Casey Castile to score from third. Castile led off the inning with a single and made her way to third via a stolen base and a wild pitch.
The score remained at 4-2 until the bottom of the seventh inning when Castile returned to the plate with two outs and runners at first and second. Castile then launched a double that allowed Ellyn Troup, who reached base on an error to score from second and make the score 4-3.
However the play was not over, as Northwestern State threw the ball into right field in an attempt to get Castile out at second base, allowing Sanders and Castile to score for the walk-off win. The two errors in the seventh inning by the Lady Demons were their only two of the game.
After the game, head coach Kara Amundson talked about the win, her first as a collegiate head coach.
“I cannot say enough about how proud I am of this team for the way we competed tonight,” said Amundson. “We played fearless in every inning and ended up with a big come from behind win. I couldn’t have asked for a better or more exciting finish for my first win as a head coach. Casey Castile came up with a huge, clutch hit for us with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and Shelby Kosmecki battled from start to finish for us inside the circle.”
Castile and Bridges each finished the game with two hits and one RBI, while Castile also scored two runs of her own. Troup, Cox and Shelbey Miller also added to MSU’s cause in the game with one hit each.
Shelby Kosmecki went the full seven innings to get her first win of the season, allowing just three earned runs off of nine hits with a school-record 12 strikeouts. Kosmecki’s 12 strikeouts breaks her own previous program record of 11 set against Tennessee Tech on April 6 of last season.
The Racers were scheduled to play a second game against Lipscomb following the win, but it was canceled due to weather conditions in the area.
Murray State will close out play in the Bulldog Battle on Sunday when they play a pair of games at 10 a.m. and Noon. The Racers will look for the sweep of Northwestern State in the opener, followed by a showdown with the host Bulldogs in the finale.
Story courtesy of Sports Information.