Nick Kendall
Staff Writer
nkendall1@murraystate.edu
Murray State softball played four teams last weekend in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and beat all four teams in the Lady Demon Classic.
Game one
The Racers opened up the series with a 2-0 shutout victory for the Racers over Northwestern State University.
After three innings of no scoring from either team, junior infielder Sierra Gilmore hit a home run in the top half of the fourth to bring herself and junior outfielder Logan Braundmeier home.
Sophomore pitcher Hannah James picked up her third win of the season, as the Nicholasville, Kentucky, native struck out four batters and only allowed three hits.
Head Coach Kara Amundson is proud of James’ dominant performances early in the season.
“Hannah James did Hannah James,” Amundson said. “That’s her third shutout of the year already which is crazy to think about. She just gets it done and the defense plays hard behind her.”
Game two
Murray State took advantage of poor defense from the Golden Lions, as Murray State grabbed the 11-3 win against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in its second game of the tournament.
The Racers only tallied four hits during the game, but the Golden Lions walked 14 batters and recorded four errors. Murray State trailed 2-0 early in the first inning, but five runs in the bottom half of the frame put the game out of reach for Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Sophomore utility Abby Shoulders tied a school record by getting walked four times for a 0-0 batting performance with two runs.
Senior pitcher Taylor Makowsky picked up her second win, allowing no walks, four strikeouts and seven hits in five innings. Freshman pitcher Jenna Veber finished out the last inning with a clean sheet and a strikeout.
Game three
Murray State faced the Lady Demons once more in the 3-0 game three victory. Veber started in the circle, picking up her first career win as a Racer. The Oswego, Illinois, native allowed one hit, no walks and two strikeouts.
Junior outfielder Jensen Striegel put the Racers on the board first with an RBI-triple. Then Braundmeier scored the next two points on RBI-singles in the second and fourth innings.
Game four
The Golden Lions looked for revenge in its second matchup with the Racers, but five hits against 10 didn’t cut it in the 6-1 victory for Murray State.
Scoring started early in the second inning for the Racers, but back-to-back homeruns from Gilmore and senior infielder Lexi Jones was the deciding factor in the win.
Makowsky is now 3-0 on the season, allowing four hits, no walks and three strikeouts. Senior pitcher Ellison Barrett was awarded with the save and allowed no runs and two strikeouts.
Amundson is more than pleased with this weekend’s performances over last weekend’s.
“I think that first weekend we left too many runners on base,” Amundson said. “That wasn’t an issue for us this weekend. We had timely hitting when we needed it and our pitching and defense showed up.”
The game five match-up against Northwestern State was cancelled because of inclement weather. The Racers will return to action at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, against Howard University at the 2020 Stinger Classic in Montgomery, Alabama.