Racers softball off to program-best OVC start

Adam Redfern

Staff writer

aredfern@murraystate.edu

Murray State softball is off to its best OVC start in program history, and the Racers have strong pitching and a change in atmosphere to thank.

The Racers have struggled in the past three seasons, finishing with records of 12-14, 11-7 and 6-16.

However, two starting pitchers, junior Taylor Makowsky and freshman Hannah James, have been key pieces, in addition to  the change in preparation for games and practices, that has helped Murray State earn the top spot in the conference.

The team is currently sitting at an 11-3 record in the OVC, a feat which can be attributed to Head Coach Kara Amundson and staff creating a family atmosphere for the team and changing their approach to games.

“We have made some adjustments over the summer for how we approach practice and games,” Amundson said. “All of that is to make sure that we don’t repeat what we have been doing the past few years. We make sure we can prepare them to come out and play hard and play well.”

Offensively, senior outfielder Lillie Goetz and senior infielder Brenna Finck have substantialized the team’s ability to get on base with team-high batting averages of .328 and .305 to go with team-high on-base percentages of .439 and .376.

Junior infielder Lexi Jones has led the team in the home run department with seven, senior catcher Madison Culver and sophomore infielder Sierra Gilmore sit right behind with five, while Goetz has added four home runs of her own.

While the Racers have held their own on offense, they don’t lead the OVC in any major offensive statistic. However, the Racers have been able to hang their hats on strong pitching to jump to first place in the OVC.

Freshman pitcher Hannah James burst onto the scene, showing potential to be the team’s ace for years to come with Murray State. She has logged 126.1 innings, owning an 11-9 record and a 2.66 ERA to go along with 95 strikeouts. No other pitcher for the Racers has thrown more than 54 innings this season.

James also became the second pitcher in program history to throw a perfect game and the first to throw a seven-inning perfect game with her seven-inning, zero hits and five-strikeout performance. However, the Racers’ rotation isn’t a one-woman show.

After missing the first 15 games of the season because of injury, Makowsky has been a dual threat with James. The junior owns a record of 7-3 to go along with a 1.93 ERA that puts her second in the OVC in that category.

Combined with this newfound success for the Racers in the circle, their leadership on the team has also helped push them to this point.

“We have had just as talented teams in the past, but the leaders on this team are super focused,” Amundson said. “Our pitching has been super solid for us. Alongside our defense, I think that is a big part of it. Our team really wants to win.”

This hot start has given the Racers extra motivation to cap the season off with a chance at an OVC Championship.

With some impressive wins against Austin Peay and SEMO last week, Amundson feels that this team — led by a motivated senior class — truly wants to win at all costs.

“I think they are determined, and it is something they have been working hard for,” Amundson said. “This senior class is ready to go, and we have talked a lot about holding one another accountable. We are not going to be okay with being mediocre, and this senior class has done a good job making sure that is how the team approaches the season.”

With some of their biggest series of the season coming up, Amundson has been steadfast on her approach to every game and making sure her team is locked in for each individual game.

“We have worked really hard to look at the scouting reports,” Amundson said. “Every team we play is different. We try our best to make sure we know who we are playing. The team is focused and they’re hungry, so that is great to see.”

A trip to the OVC Tournament would be Amundson’s sixth trip to the postseason. The Racers have not made it to the OVC Championship game since 2012 and are looking to secure their first OVC title in program history.

Murray State will return to action in hopes of claiming the regular season OVC title for the first game of two against Jacksonville State at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 18, at Jacksonville, Alabama.

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