After 3-1 start, Softball heads to Georgia for four games

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MOREHEAD, Ky. - After the first weekend of the season, you could call the Morehead State softball team the come-back kids just as easy as you could call them Eagles after they rallied from behind to win each of their first three games. They finished the weekend at 3-1 and now look to continue that momentum as they head south for Kennesaw, Ga. to face Bradley, Rutgers, Bowling Green, and Kennesaw State in the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament.

The first game of the season set the tone as the Eagles trailed by as much as 4-0 after three innings and then scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally from behind to defeat host Cleveland State, 6-5. It was sophomore Laine Simmons' three-run walk-off home run that sent the Eagles home winners.

They did it again later that afternoon against Niagara. Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, they got two runs in the top of the inning and then sophomore Mackenzie Grossmann retired the Purple Eagles in order to secure the victory. It was two-run home runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, one by senior Lizzy Margagliotti and two by sophomore Robyn Leighton, that helped MSU rally from a 4-0 deficit to down Bowling Green.

With the three come-from behind victories, Morehead State got off to their first 3-0 start since 2009-10 when they opened the season with victories against Butler, Marian (Ind.), and IUPUI.

Morehead State fell in their final game at the CSU Dome Invitational to Robert Morris, 8-0, but that didn't overshadow the Eagles' strong start to the year.

"We played four games in 24 hours which can be exhausting for everyone. To come out of the weekend at 3-1 is a great way to start the season and it gives us something positive to build on," said head coach David Williams.

Leighton was named OVC Player of the Week after hitting three home runs and batting .500 in the first four games of the season. Her slugging percentage for the week was an impressive 1.500%.

The Eagles now turn their attention towards Kennesaw as they open against Bradley at 10 a.m. ET on Friday morning. They face Rutgers at 10 a.m. and Bowling Green at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, and close with host Kennesaw State at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.