MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State softball team will compete in its fourth and final in-season tournament of the spring on Saturday and Sunday when the Eagles travel to Greenville, N.C., for the four-team Purple-Gold Invitational. All games will take place at the Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

Midweek the schedule was adjusted to account for the likelihood of rain. On Saturday, MSU will open against host East Carolina at 11 a.m. and then face Bryant at 4 p.m. On Sunday, the Eagles will return to play Bryant at 10 a.m. and then Rider at 12:30 p.m. Originally, the Blue and Gold was to face Bryant and Rider on Saturday, and then Rider and ECU on Sunday.

The East Carolina contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ (https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=ebe33a0a-40b3-4478-9af1-9546b2a02323), with live stats available for all four games (https://ecupirates.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary).

"We are excited for another weekend (with) some our injured athletes coming back to gain some innings … . (We want) to continuously work together as a team to have sound defense, keeping batters off balance, as well as putting the ball hard into play (and) moving base runners," MSU coach Samantha Jones said. "Practice has gone well this week. We were able to get both inside and outside, and (have) some great quality work hitting the ball as well as scrimmaging."

Despite its record, Morehead State (0-13) has continued to battle its opponents all the way to the end of games. Six times this season, the contest was decided in the fifth inning or later. Most of the runs in this year's Eagles' outings have come in the first four frames. Both the Blue and Gold and its foes have tallied 71 percent of their scoring during that time.

Senior catcher Peyton Slater continues to pace the squad both offensively and defensively. She leads the regulars with a .324 batting average and five RBI. In addition, she has thrown out six runners attempting to steal. She has at least one hit in 10 of the 13 games and had reached base in all but two outings.

Sophomore Lennon Spicer is the squad's top pitcher. She owns an 0-7 record and a 4.50 ERA, but is among the Ohio Valley Conference leaders in strikeouts per seven innings, sitting sixth at 8.2 per game. Additionally, Spicer is fourth in the league in batters looking at a third strike with 11.

The Eagles have only played this weekend's opponents four times. MSU is 2-1 against Rider and 0-1 versus East Carolina. Morehead State has never faced Bryant. The Eagles last met the Broncs on Mar. 1, 2002, when MSU won 8-5 at Virginia. The two previous contests took place at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. – a 6-1 Rider win in 1999, and a 2-1 Eagle win in 2000. ECU defeated MSU 6-3 on Feb. 27, 2010, at the Pirate Classic. It was Morehead State's only other appearance at an East Carolina tournament with the Blue and Gold finishing 0-4 at that year's event.

East Carolina (8-10) split its four outings at the Elon Cardinal Invitational, including dropping the last two (1-0 against host Elon on Sunday and 6-1 versus Michigan State on Saturday). The Pirates are hitting .289 as a team, led by junior outfielder Faith Jarvis' .417. Jarvis adds seven RBI and has stolen 12 bases in 15 attempts. Sophomore Madisyn Davis owns a 3-1 record, a 1.29 ERA and 28 strikeouts with 16 walks.

Dating back to 2021, Bryant (0-7) has lost 13 straight games. The Bulldogs dropped their most recent contests at last weekend's Hampton/Norfolk State Tournament in Virginia, including 13-2 to Rider, and 8-3 and 4-2 to Norfolk State. Prior to that, Bryant faced No. 13 Georgia and North Carolina twice apiece. The Bulldogs are hitting just .148 as a team with junior catcher Jenna Gardner topping the squad at .211. Junior Kylie Kenney is 0-3 in the circle with a 4.20 ERA, eight strikeouts and seven walks.

Rider (5-4) went 4-1 at last weekend's Hampton/Norfolk State Tournament. The Broncs split their Sunday contests by defeating Hampton 11-8 and falling to Massachusetts-Lowell 3-0. Sophomore pitcher/second baseman Jessie Niegocki tops the team with a .537 batting average. Seven starters are hitting above .300, with the team sporting a .359 average. Junior utility player Elena Gonzalez boasts a team-high 20 RBI and three home runs. In the circle, freshman Kathryn Schmierer is 3-1 with a 2.49 ERA, tallying both 11 strikeouts and 11 walks.

The Eagles will return home for a single game against arch rival Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The squad is slated to begin OVC play next weekend at Eastern Illinois.