NOTE: Due to frigid temperatures, the weekend schedule has been changed and one game has been dropped. MSU will now play Holy Cross and Northern Iowa on Friday at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively, then face Furman on Saturday at 4 p.m., and Austin Peay on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Throughout the first two weekends of 2025, the Morehead State softball team has played well in different phases of the game. However, it has had difficulty putting them all together at the same time. Now coming off an improved series of pitching performances, the Eagles are looking to break through in their third tournament of the year, the Furman Classic.
The three-day, five-game affair will take place at Furman University's Pepsi Stadium in Greenville, S.C., and run Friday through Sunday.
Morehead State (1-9) will begin the tournament with two games on Friday, opening with Holy Cross at 10 a.m. and then Northern Iowa at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Eagles will meet host Furman at 4:30 p.m. and then former Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay at 7 p.m., before closing out the weekend on Sunday with a second game against Holy Cross. The first pitch for MSU's tournament finale is 9 a.m.
It will be the club's second tournament this month in South Carolina. The Eagles began the season at Presbyterian's Pinnacle Blue Hose Invitational.
"We're working to turn things around and use the lessons we've learned in the last two weekends to help us grow," said MSU head coach
Megan Griffith.
The Eagles picked up their first win of the season last Saturday with a 4-2 decision against the Kennesaw State Tournament host Owls. MSU battled in each of last weekend's outings, before eventually falling to Creighton 3-1 and 6-2, Kennesaw State 8-3 and Northern Kentucky 18-15.
So far this year, MSU is 1-3 on the road and 0-6 in neutral-site contests.
The Eagles have been hitting the ball well all season, but last weekend, they saw growth in other areas, including trimming back their opponents' batting average, allowing fewer runs, striking out more than twice as many batters and dramatically improving their fielding percentage. They also allowed half as many stolen bases as they did in the opening weekend. The number of extra base hits also rose 250 percent, plus they drove in more runs and drew more walks.
In comparison, through the first 10 tournament games of last year, the team's batting average has improved by 34 percentage points and it has struck out 28 fewer times.
Overall this spring, the team is batting .273, has scored 43 runs, has 21 extra-base hits, stolen 10 bases, and owns a 7.00 ERA and a .953 fielding percentage. Its opponents are hitting .355, with 79 runs, six homers, 18 stolen bases, a 2.57 ERA and a .932 fielding percentage.
Senior utility player
Ilencia Lightbody leads the way offensively with a .476 batting average, four extra-base hits, six RBI, a .714 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Freshman infielder
Victoria Spencer follows with a .346 batting average, four RBI, six walks and a .469 on-base percentage. Sophomore infielder
Kendra Lewis is hitting .333, with a team-high seven runs, plus a .533 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage. Sophomore infielder
Sela Pickford and senior outfielder
Darlene Montoya both are batting .314 and have scored six times. Pickford adds a team-best seven RBI, along with a .457 slugging percentage and a .368 on-base percentage; while Montoya has recorded a .400 slugging percentage and a .342 on-base percentage. Sophomore
Maddy Christopher is the sixth Eagle batting over .300 at .303, as well as scoring six times and swiping a team-high three bases.
In addition, Pickford is riding a reaching-base-safely streak of 11 games. Lightbody owns the longest active hitting streak at five contests.
Pitching remains a concern. The team has primarily relied upon junior
Emma Solis (1-2 record, 6.58 ERA, eight strikeouts, 14 walks, 22.1 innings) and junior
Rylie Burney (0-5 record, 6.62 ERA, 12 strikeouts, 20 walks, 37.0 innings).
Holy Cross has yet to play this year. The Crusaders were originally slated to play a three-game road series with George Washington this past weekend, but it was wiped out due to weather.
Last spring, Holy Cross finished 14-35. The club was 8-27 away from home. That team hit .252, with 138 runs, 14 homers, 20 stolen bases, a 4.63 ERA and a .959 fielding percentage. Its opponents batted .297, with 260 runs, 21 home runs, 66 stolen bases, a 2.43 ERA and a .971 fielding percentage.
A 2024 third-team all-region selection, junior outfielder Ali Sniegocki topped her squad in 11 categories, including batting average (.338), runs (25), doubles (12), home runs (six), RBI (23), slugging percentage (.525) and on-base percentage (.359). Junior middle infielder Anna Brait is the second-leading returning hitter with a .229 batting average, 11 doubles, two homers and 18 RBI in 2024.
In the circle, junior Sophia Roncone enters the year after having posted a 7-18 record, a 3.62 ERA, three saves, 120 strikeouts and 90 walks in 160.1 innings last season.
Head coach Jon Ladino is in his first season.
Northern Iowa finished the 2024 campaign with a 33-17 record and ranked 77th in the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index, the third highest mark among the opponents on this year's MSU schedule. UNI enters the weekend with a 3-2 record and will be playing on the road for the first time. Last spring, it was 20-14 overall away from home.
Two weekends ago, the Panthers split with North Dakota (1-0 win and 3-0 loss) and Omaha (13-10 loss and 4-1 win), which received votes in the latest national polls; and defeated Loyola, Ill., 6-2.
The club had a Wednesday game at Eastern Kentucky canceled due to the weather.
Northern Iowa is hitting .252 as a team, with 21 runs, four homers, 12 stolen bases, a 2.80 ERA and a .966 fielding percentage. Its opponents boast a batting average of .310, with 19 runs, three homers, three stolen bases, a 3.94 ERA and a .962 fielding percentage.
Senior designated player Addison McElrath leads the club with a .571 batting average, three homers, seven RBI, a 1.286 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. Senior shortstop Kylee Sanders adds a .500 batting average, a .625 slugging percentage and a .556 on-base percentage. Freshman utility player Skylar Benesh is batting .333, with a .474 on-base percentage and three stolen bases.
Redshirt junior Anna Wischnowski is the ace. In 21 innings, she has a 3-0 record, a 1.00 ERA, with 16 strikeouts and six walks. Freshman Morgan Vertz has pitched just six innings and owns a 0-1 record, a 3.53 ERA, three strikeouts and three walks.
Head coach Ryan Jacobs has piloted the program for 18 years and owns a 497-354 record.
The Eagles will meet both Holy Cross and Northern Iowa for the first time.
Host Furman (3-7) has struggled this season. It has already hosted one tournament, with its lone win coming against UT Martin 2-1 in eight innings. It also split a Tuesday doubleheader with Canisius, losing 6-3 and winning 7-4. The team is 2-4 at home this season. Its other win was 4-3 against Harvard this past Saturday in Statesboro, Ga. Last year, the club went 24-30.
The Paladins are batting .239 as a team, with 32 runs, two home runs, seven stolen bases, a 3.32 ERA and a .927 fielding percentage. Their opponents have a .267 batting average, with 53 runs, two home runs, 24 stolen bases, a 2.54 ERA and a .940 fielding percentage.
Junior catcher/designated player Sylvia Burroughs tops the squad with a .586 batting average. She adds five runs, six doubles, eight RBI, seven walks, an .897 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. Freshman catcher Madison Petty follows with a .423 batting average, five RBI, a .500 slugging percentage and a .455 on-base percentage.
Three pitchers have shared nearly equal time in the circle. Sophomore Angelina Ricciardi leads the way with a 1-2 record, a 2.53 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 10 walks in 19.1 innings. Senior Emme Buzhardt has a 1-1 record, a 2.83 ERA, with 21 strikeouts and eight walks in 17.1 innings. Senior pitcher/designated hitter Lauralee Scott has a 1-1 record, a 2.85 ERA, with 23 strikeouts and eight walks in 19.2 innings.
Stacey Johnson-Whitfield has been the team's coach for three-plus seasons. She has a 69-92 record.
Furman leads the series with MSU 2-1. The two teams met on February 26, 2016 (10-2 at Furman tournament) and March 4, 2005 (10-7 in Charleston, S.C.), with the Paladins claiming both wins. The Eagles' lone victory came on February 14, 2009, in Auburn, Ala. (4-3 in nine innings).
Longtime OVC member Austin Peay and MSU will meet for the first of three contests this season. The Eagles will travel to the Governors Classic next weekend in Clarksville, Tenn.
Last spring, Austin Peay went 23-29, with a 7-19 record away from home. This year, the Govs have turned things around and boast a 7-3 mark, with each game coming outside of Clarksville.
Last weekend, the team topped Tarleton State (6-4), Houston Christian (7-3), Akron (8-3) and South Dakota State (9-4) in Stephenville, Texas. Its lone defeat came at the hands of SDSU, 10-9. The prior weekend, it finished 3-2 in Macon, Ga., where it topped Florida A&M (3-2 and 9-2) and Saint Joseph's (6-0). It also fell to St. Joe's 5-2 and host Mercer 9-7.
Austin Peay is batting .319, with 66 runs, 12 home runs, two stolen bases, a 4.26 ERA and a .986 fielding percentage. Its opponents are hitting .290, with 42 runs, seven homers, six stolen bases, a 5.30 ERA and a .952 fielding percentage.
Six Governors are batting above .300. Senior utility player Kylie Campbell has a .455 average, with 13 runs, two homers, eight RBI, a .970 slugging percentage and a .486 on-base percentage. Junior infielder Sammie Shelander bats .400, with five RBI, a .480 slugging percentage and a .464 on-base percentage. Senior catcher Sam Leski is the power hitter. She is batting .379, with seven runs, four homers, 14 RBI, an .828 slugging percentage and a .471 on-base percentage. Sophomore utility player Katie Raper adds a .313 batting average, with three homers and 10 RBI. Senior outfielder Raylon Roach (.355) and sophomore infielder Kiley Hinton (.345) are also hitting well.
Pitching has been an issue. Junior Emberly Nichols has a 4-2 record, with a 3.32 ERA, seven strikeouts and 16 walks in 19 innings. Senior Ashley Martin is 1-0, with a 3.05 ERA, two saves, 17 strikeouts and 11 walks in 19 innings. Senior Samantha Miener is 2-1, with a 5.03 ERA, nine strikeouts and eight walks in 23.2 innings.
Kassie Stanfill is the team's head coach. Now in her seventh year, she is the school's all-time winningest coach with a 158-129 record.
Morehead State is 46-42-1 all-time against APSU. The teams last met at the end of March of 2022, with the Eagles' closing out a three-game home series winning 9-1 in five innings. Austin Peay won the first two games, 5-2 and 7-4. The Govs had won nine straight before the MSU victory in the finale. The Eagles lead in neutral-site games 4-3 but trail away from Morehead 25-21. The Blue and Gold have dropped the last five outings on the road in the series.
Live stats for each of the games can be found at the following links:
Game 1 (vs. Holy Cross):
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=584487
Game 2 (vs. Northern Iowa):
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=584391
Game 3 (vs. Furman):
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=576469
Game 4 (vs. Austin Peay):
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=584395
Game 5 (vs. Holy Cross):
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=584396
None of the Eagles' weekend tournament games will be televised.
MSU's final early-season tournament will be the Governors Classic next weekend in Clarksville, Tenn. There, the team will face Florida Atlantic and host Austin Peay on Friday, Feb. 28 at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The Eagles return on Saturday to play APSU at 4:30 p.m. and Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. They conclude the weekend on Sunday with an 11:30 a.m. matchup with Florida Atlantic.
The Blue and Gold open both the home and OVC campaigns with SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 8-9.
