MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State softball team will look to reverse a recent trend as Southeast Missouri comes to town for the first time since 2018 carrying an 11-game win streak against the Eagles. The two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game Sunday, but due to rain in Morehead this week, the series has been pushed back to Sunday and Monday. It is now slated as the first three outings of a five-game home stand for the Blue and Gold.
It is the second straight outing rescheduled this week after a home doubleheader versus Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday was postponed until April 30.
The new schedule has the Ohio Valley Conference foes squaring off in a Sunday doubleheader starting at noon (2:30 p.m. for game two), with a single game on Monday at noon, with all three contests taking place at MSU's University Field. Earlier this spring, the MSU-Tennessee State series also shifted to a Sunday-Monday format.
Coming off a six-game road trip, the Eagles enter the series having dropped four straight, including all three outings at Lindenwood this past weekend. The Lions captured the Friday opener 6-1, then Saturday's twin bill 2-1 and 2-0. However, during that stretch, Morehead State out-hit LU 15-14. The 14 hits were the fewest the Eagles have allowed in an OVC three-game series since tying that mark in the final series of 2022 (May 7-8) at Murray State. The last time MSU allowed fewer than 14 hits was April 25-26, 2021, at home against Jacksonville State, when it surrendered just 12. The two hits MSU allowed in game two were the second fewest it surrendered in a game this season.
The Blue and Gold last played at home on March 24 and currently sports a 4-4 record there. The most recent outings at the University Field were an Eagle win over Tennessee Tech 4-3 on the 23rd, and two TTU victories on the 23rd (7-2) and 24th (9-4).
"We're excited to be back at home this weekend. We're really focusing this week on limiting the number of free passes we allow on defense," said MSU head coach
Megan Griffith. "Offensively, we want to keep seeing the ball well and staying aggressive. (The) hitters have done a good job over the past few weekends and we're looking to continue that this weekend."
As a team, the Eagles are hitting .228, with 10 homers, 38 stolen bases, a 4.26 ERA, a .957 fielding percentage, while scoring 3.39 runs per game. Their opponents are batting .281, with 14 homers, 59 stolen bases, a 2.51 ERA, a .950 fielding percentage and averaging 5.25 rpg.
Morehead State (10-18/4-11) has had its most success this season on offense, where it has accumulated at least five hits 18 times. All eight regular starting batters are hitting at least .213.
Junior outfielder
Darlene Montoya continues to lead the way with a .293 batting average, while adding team highs of eight doubles and 12 RBI. Freshman infielder
Sela Pickford, who was the co-OVC Player of the Week after the Western Illinois series two weekends ago, is next with a .262 batting average, eight extra-base hits and 12 RBI. She leads the team with 16 runs and has the second fewest strikeouts among those with at least 50 at bats (11). Freshman infielder
Kendra Lewis is next hitting .260, with a .379 on base percentage and 14 walks. Junior utility player
Ilencia Lightbody tops the squad in slugging percentage (.453), on base percentage (.420), walks (15) and stolen bases (seven).
In conference games, senior catcher
Kaytlyn Cripps leads the club with a .283 batting average and seven RBI.
The Eagles have started to get consistent pitching lately. All three hurlers have a sub 2.00 WHIP and 5.00 ERA, the first time this season that has been the case. The club's ERA also is the lowest it has been in nearly a month.
Freshman
Addie Stem tops the staff with a 5-11 record, a 3.91 ERA, two saves, 57 strikeouts, and 52 walks in 86.0 innings. Sophomore
Jessie Begley adds a 5-5 record, a 4.92 ERA and one save, with 28 strikeouts and 29 walks in 69.2 innings. Freshman
Cassiti Baroni has had her best outings of late and now owns a 0-2 record, with a 3.55 ERA, nine strikeouts and 18 walks in 21.2 innings.
Southeast Missouri (15-21/9-6) enters the series after having a Wednesday home game with Saint Louis canceled. The Redhawks dropped their most recent outing, a Sunday home contest with Tennessee Tech, 10-8, but won their last road game, an April 3 contest at 11th-ranked Missouri, 1-0. Overall, the team has posted a 9-4 mark over its last month of action. SEMO is 6-8 on the road this spring.
Among common opponents, Southeast Missouri has a 5-4 record, a group that includes Southern Indiana, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.
As a team, the Redhawks boast a .269 batting average, with 13 home runs and 36 stolen bases. It is averaging 3.75 rpg, with a 4.09 ERA and a .951 fielding percentage. Its opponents are hitting .285, with 21 home runs, 34 stolen bases, 5.00 rpg, a 3.05 ERA and a .963 fielding percentage.
Senior infielder Abigail Rickermann leads the squad with a .391 batting average. She also sports a .435 slugging percentage, a .440 on base percentage and six stolen bases. Junior infielder Aubrie Shore is batting .333, with 23 RBI, 12 doubles, a .500 slugging percentage and a .382 on base percentage. Senior catcher Marissa Peek is hitting .292, with a team best five home runs, as well as 18 RBI, a .646 slugging percentage and a .347 on base percentage. Senior outfielder Paige Halliwill bats .283, with 17 RBI and leads the club with 14 walks and nine stolen bases.
Senior Paytience Holman handles the bulk of the work in the circle. She is 8-8 with a 2.92 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 24 walks in 91 innings. Freshman Tegan Livesay is 2-3 with a 3.62 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 27 walks in 50.1 innings. Freshman Maddie Carney is 3-4, with a 4.43 ERA, 23 strikeouts and 28 walks in 55.1 innings.
Southeast Missouri leads the all-time series 71-21. The Redhawks have won all 11 meetings in Cape Girardeau, Mo., over the last five years, including 4-1, 9-1 (in six innings) and 1-0, last spring, as well as two straight at the University Field. Morehead State's last victory came in the 2018 OVC Tournament (4-1).
The past four series were played at SEMO. The last time the two met in Morehead, the Redhawks won 4-1 (in eight innings) and 2-0, on April 21, 2018. The Eagles' last home victories were 1-0 and 6-1 on April 24, 2016, which also marked the last time MSU captured the season series. In all, SEMO holds a 26-12 advantage in games at the University Field, is 1-13 in the last 14 overall meetings and has claimed 28 of the 36 all-time multi-game in-season series.
This weekend's games will be broadcast on ESPN+. The links are as follows:
https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/d360824b-9767-41b6-a242-22d12ecebb92 (Game 1),
https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/be63041c-b62a-4221-8485-8b1804e6bcaa (Game 2) and
https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/61fd5478-bc6f-428a-a453-596de003acba (Game 3).
Fans can also follow along the live stats at
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=512551\ (Game 1),
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=512560 (Game 2) and
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=512552 (Game 3).
Morehead State is scheduled to turn around and immediately host Youngstown State in a Tuesday doubleheader. As of now, those games are scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m.
