BOX SCORE: (CMU) (BUF)
 
MACON, Ga. – The Morehead State softball team began its 2018 campaign with a pair of wins Friday.  The Eagles defeated Central Michigan 4-1 and then slugged out a 9-3 victory over the Buffalo Bulls at the Mercer Invitational. The opening-game win marked the 600th in program history.
 
"I am really pleased with our performance today," said head coach David Williams. "Our pitchers both threw well, and our offense was able to manufacture runs and consistently put the ball in play all day."
 
 MSU 4, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 1
 
Chelsea McManaway stifled the Chippewas' lineup by striking out 10 batters and only allowing one earned run on six hits to lift the Eagles to victory.
 
The Eagle bats gave the senior pitcher a nice lead to work with though, as they jumped out to an early lead by scoring three of their four runs in the top half of the first inning.
 
The big inning got underway when three-hole hitter Allison Rager blasted a single shot up the middle that drove in left fielder Taylor Wheeler from second. Allison Davis capitalized on a Chippewas' fielding error for the game's second run, and Cheyenne Meyer's pop-up sacrifice fly to score Rager rounded out the Eagles' first-inning scores.
 
A passed ball in the third allowed Davis to score her second run of the game and the final run of the day for Morehead State
 
The junior Rager finished 2-for-4 batting, drove in one run, and scored one run.
 
Meyer, in the designated player role, drove in one run on a sac fly as well.
 
MSU 9, BUFFALO 3
 
Morehead State seniors Ellen Barrett, Kylie Holton, and Robyn Leighton drilled home runs in a six-run sixth-inning to power the Eagles to the victory in game two.
 
The trio of Eagle sluggers batted 6-for-9 and drove in six runs.
 
Leighton, who finished last year second on the team in total RBI (35), drove in four runs.
 
Rager picked up the victory for Morehead State in the pitcher's circle, striking out seven batters.
 
NEXT UP

The Eagles will try to build upon the momentum of their hot start as they continue play in the Mercer Invitational tomorrow. Morehead State will play a day-night doubleheader. The first game against Appalachian State is at 11:45 a.m. ET and a return matchup is set for later that evening against Central Michigan with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.