The Racer softball team will play its final preseason tournament at the Evansville Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
Murray State is scheduled to face Bowling Green State and the University of Evansville in Evansville, Ind.
Head Coach Kara Amundson said she wants the team to continue to compete in all of their games and focus on its game, rather than if the team wins or loses.
“We still haven’t really fully embraced being able to compete through seven innings,” she said.
Amundson said she believes the team needs to work hard play a solid seven innings this weekend in Evansville.
She said she believes being able to stay consistent through seven innings is going to be a key factor in conference play.
Amundson said she hopes the team can better compete through the adversity and struggles of close games. She wants the team to battle through all of their games and not let up, regardless of the score.
“Being able to compete start to finish is something we’re still really looking forward to doing,” Amundson said.
She said she believes certain players need to step up at different times to help the team pull through some of their close games.
Amundson said she wants the team to help each other in tough situations. If it does these things, the team can accomplish their goals this weekend she said.
The Racers finished the Magic City Classic last weekend with one win and three losses.
Two of the games against the University of South Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham were close games. The Racers lost 0-1 and 0-2 in those games. With some tweaking, Amundson said she sees the team coming out on top in Evansville. She said the team displayed a lot of positive things, despite the losses.
She said she believes the team did not overcome the adversity in close games as well as they could have.
“We’re working this week in practice to make sure we’re learning from those adversities,” Amundson said.
Even with three losses, she said she believes all of these preseason tournaments are a learning opportunity for the team and good things will come out of these beginning games.
The team did record one win over Nicholls State. The game was close, and the Racers managed to come out on top. Amundson said she was proud of the win. She said a win is always a good thing.
Amundson said she said she hopes to accomplish the things the team lacked last weekend and compete its hardest to bring home a few more wins before the start of the regular season.
The Racers first game is against Bowling Green State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Story by Megan Kavy, Staff writer.