MURRAY, Ky. – Missouri State softball (30-19, 20-6 MVC) collected its first 30-win season since 2019 and its first-ever 20-win conference season with a doubleheader split at Murray State (33-19, 17-9 MVC) on Saturday afternoon.
Game 1: Murray State 3, Missouri State 0
The Bears found themselves down early in the series opener at Murray State and were unable to mount a comeback bid.
Murray State posted a three-run bottom of the first inning courtesy of four hits and a Missouri State fielding error. The inning came to an end as a Racer was thrown out attempting to steal second.
The first inning served as the game-winner as both squads put zeroes on the scoreboard for the remainder of the game. Missouri State had its opportunities, as the Bears stranded five runners after the first and owned the same numbers of hits as the Racers in the game.
A major bright spot for the Bears in the game was Gracie Johnston, who came on in relief in the first. The senior right-hander hurled 5.1 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out five on the afternoon to keep Murray State off the board for the final five innings.
At the plate, McKenzie Vaughan logged a multiple hit game that included a single and a double, while three other Bears tallied hits for MSU in the loss.
Game 2: Missouri State 2, Murray State 1
The second game of the doubleheader saw another hard-fought battle with Missouri State coming out on top this time.
After a couple of scoreless innings to begin game two, Murray State was able to push the first run across in the bottom of the third via a couple of singles and a Bear error.
With the Bears still looking to break through offensively on the day, Missouri State got a spark in the fifth inning courtesy of a Tess Weakly solo homer to tie the game at a run apiece and bring MSU right back into the mix.
Over the next couple of innings, the Bears retired the Racers in order in the fifth and forced Murray State to strand two runners in the sixth. From there, the game headed to the seventh with Missouri State looking to take its first lead of the game.
The Bears did just that.
Olivia Krehbiel drew a leadoff walk for Missouri State followed by a McKayla Carney bunt single to put two runners on with no outs. Then, a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk issued to Weakly loaded the bases full of Bears with one out. Annie Mueller then delivered a fly ball to left field which resulted in a Murray State error, as Krehbiel scored to give the Bears a 2-1 lead heading to the final half inning.
Mackenzie Chacon and the Bear defense locked it down with a 1-2-3 seventh inning to secure the 2-1 victory and force a rubber match against the Racers tomorrow.
Chacon (10-3) tossed a gem in the circle, earning the complete game victory as she allowed just one run (zero earned) on six hits while striking out four Racers.
The Bears and Racers will face off in the rubber match tomorrow (May 7) with first pitch now set for 10 a.m.
