BOX SCORES: (GM 1) (GM 2)
 
DAYTON, Ohio – The Morehead State softball team improved to 22-12 overall after reeling off a pair of victories by scores of 7-3 and 4-1 in a midweek sweep of Wright State on Wednesday afternoon at WSU Softball Field.
 
Highlighting the 7-3 game-one win were performances by seniors Ellen Barrett and Chelsea McManaway. The senior infielder Barrett had a huge outing with a double and two homers en route to going 3-for-3 and driving in five runs. The lefty ace McManaway kept the Raiders guessing all game at the dish and rang up 15 batters, tying the season-best mark she set back on March 31 in a 6-0 win over Tennessee State.
 
Game two was dominated by the Eagle defense for the most part as junior Allison Rager had a terrific outing in the pitcher's circle, going six innings before yielding a hit to Wright State. The Morehead State offense did collect 10 hits in the 4-1 victory though, including a 3-for-4 game that included a double and an RBI by senior utility player Taylor Wheeler.
 
"We had a solid all-around performance today," said head coach David Williams. "We hit the ball well all day and scored runs when we needed them while both of our pitchers had solid outings and the defense made plays behind them."
 
The losses dropped the Raiders to 14-24 for the season.
 
MOREHEAD STATE 7, WRIGHT STATE 3
 
The Eagles took advantage of an early Wright State miscue when Aubrey Bennett advanced all the way to third base on a throwing error by the Raiders' pitcher. Freshman Paige Scruggs walked in the next at-bat before Barrett delivered with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Bennett and also advanced Scruggs to second. In the very next at-bat Rager, who started game one at first base, lined a single into left field that brought Scruggs home and gave Morehead State the 2-0 lead after one inning.
 
In the fourth, the Eagles added two more runs and took a 4-0 lead when Barrett crushed her fourth home run of the season. The two-run shot came after Bennett reached base safely with a leadoff single. The Raiders answered back quickly though and scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a two-RBI single by center-fielder Macey Gunther, making it a 4-2 game.
 
Barrett wasted no time picking up her fifth dinger of the season when, in her very next trip to the plate, she lifted a 3-2 pitch over the fence for a solo shot giving Morehead State the 5-2 lead after five frames. Senior Hannah Murphy, whose three-run homer lifted the Eagles to a 3-0 win last Saturday at Belmont, got in on the home-run action in the sixth by cranking a leadoff shot over the left-center field fence to extend the lead to 6-2. A leadoff single by Scruggs in the seventh turned into a run when Barrett doubled her home and the made the score 7-2 heading into the final half inning. The Raiders did not go down easily in the seventh as sophomore Lauren Deitrick sent the first pitch she saw of her one-out at-bat out of the park making it a 7-3 game. McManaway, who went the distance in the pitcher's circle for the 17th time this season, answered back by recording the final two outs via strikeout and pop out.
 
The Eagles recorded 11 hits in the game with Barrett going 3-for-3, while Rager went 2-for-4 with one RBI and senior catcher Robyn Leighton went 2-for-3 with a walk. Wheeler, Bennett, Scruggs, and Murphy all finished with one hit apiece.
 
McManaway was awarded the victory and improved to 14-5 overall. The senior stuck out 15 batters and gave up just five hits while walking three batters in the game. Junior Ally Russell was tagged with the loss for Wright State and fell to 4-8 for the year.
 
MOREHEAD STATE 4, WRIGHT STATE 1
 
Rager began game two in the pitcher's circle and picked up right where she left off last Saturday after throwing a no-hitter at Belmont. Rager had tossed 13 consecutive hitless innings before the Raiders got their first hit in the bottom of the seventh when freshman Madison Whitaker singled up the middle.
 
Morehead State again took advantage of errors by Wright State to produce runs in game two. Kylie Holton reached base in the second inning after an error by the Raiders' third baseman. Senior Abigail Rhodes, who entered to pinch run for Holton, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Murphy and later scored when Wheeler slapped a double down the right-field line to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead. In the fifth frame, Bennett advanced to second on a throwing error by the Raider second baseman and was later hit home thanks to an RBI single by Scruggs.
 
Rager helped pad her lead in the seventh by drilling an RBI single that scored Wheeler, who doubled three batters before Rager's at-bat, and pinch runner Kalle Coleman. The Eagles took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh and were tested as Wright State loaded the bases following the Whitaker single but were only able to produce one run on a sac fly by Deitrick.
 
The Elk View, W.Va., native Rager picked up the win and improved to 7-6 for the season. The righty gave up only two hits and two walks while striking out three. Ashley Sharp was pinned with the loss, dropping her to 10-14.
 
The Eagles reached double digit hits for the second consecutive game as they finished with 10. Wheeler's 3-for-4 game was seconded by Scruggs who went 2-for-4. Bennett, Barrett, Rager, Holton, and senior Lindsay Ward all had one hit for Morehead State.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Eagles return home for a seven-game homestand that includes six Ohio Valley Conference games and one non-conference date with nationally-ranked Kentucky. MSU will face Southeast Missouri on Saturday, UT Martin on Sunday, and Murray State on Tuesday, all in doubleheader action, before rounding out the homestand with a single game against the Wildcats next Wednesday.