MOREHEAD, Ky. – The pre-season tournament part of the Morehead State softball schedule will end this weekend with a trip to Clarksville, Tenn., and the Governors Classic. The Eagles will face No. 25/RV/22 Florida Atlantic Friday at 11:30 a.m. ET and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET, host Austin Peay on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, and Northern Kentucky on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field.
It will be the fourth three-day, five-game event to begin the year, the first time MSU has started with four consecutive tournaments to begin the year since 2022.
It has been a challenging season so far for Morehead State (1-13), the Eagles dropped all four games of the Furman Classic last weekend, including 10-1 in five innings to Austin Peay on Sunday, 8-0 in six innings to Furman on Saturday, and 11-5 to Northern Iowa and 5-2 to Holy Cross on Friday. The team's fifth scheduled contest (a Sunday rematch with Holy Cross) was canceled before the start of the tournament due to cold weather.
"We just need to put the pieces together. Pitchers are working to keep the hitters off balance and defense is working to make the routine plays routinely," said MSU head coach
Megan Griffith. "Hitters are continuing to grow at the plate and now it's time to play together as a unit."
MSU enters the weekend with a 1-4 mark on the road, a 0-9 record in neutral-site outings and a five-game overall skid. Dating back to last year, the team has dropped its last 11 neutral-site games.
There have been some highlights. Freshman catcher
Nyla Doiron hit the Eagles' first home run of the year (a fifth-inning solo shot) in Saturday's game against Northern Iowa. Sophomore infielder
Sela Pickford had an 11-game streak of reaching base safely before it was stopped against Holy Cross.
Both Pickford and junior outfielder Taikibrea "Red" Campbell pitched last weekend. Campbell even started against Austin Peay, the first position player to have received the call to open the game according to limited information.
Despite the Eagles' record, they suffered just their second and third run-rule defeats of the season this past weekend. MSU had a string of 52 games with a hit snapped in its Saturday contest against tournament host Furman.
As a team, MSU is hitting .257, with 51 runs, one home run, 10 stolen bases, a 7.03 ERA and a .939 fielding percentage. Its opponents are batting .344, with 113 runs, 12 homers 26 stolen bases, a 2.33 ERA and a .932 fielding percentage.
A trio of MSU players are hitting above .300: senior utility player
Ilencia Lightbody (.393 batting average, four extra-base hits, six RBI, ,571 slugging percentage, .414 on-base percentage), sophomore infielder
Kendra Lewis (.350 batting average, five doubles, two triples, 10 runs, .575 slugging percentage, .469 on-base percentage) and sophomore outfielder Maddy Christian (.340 batting average, eight runs, three stolen bases, .367 on-base percentage).
The Eagles have primarily relied upon two pitchers, although they have used position players on six occasions so far this season. Junior
Rylie Burney leads the way with a 0-6 record, a 6.45 ERA, with 15 strikeouts and 25 walks in 46.2 innings. Junior
Emma Solis is 1-4, with a 7.00 ERA, 16 strikeouts and 17 walks in 30 innings.
This may be MSU's toughest tournament yet and it starts off with Florida Atlantic. The Owls appear in two of the three major polls (No. 25 in the NFCA/GoRout Coaches' Poll and No. 22 in DI Softball) and is the first team out of the top 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. The games against FAU will be the Eagles' first games against a ranked opponent since facing No. 7 Kentucky on March 31, 2021.
Although the NCAA has not released its initial Ratings Percentage Index rankings this year. FAU finished 2024 sitting 44th, the highest of any team on this spring's Eagles' schedule.
Florida Atlantic (15-3) lost a home game with Central Florida (3-0) on Wednesday. Prior to that, the Owls had won six straight, including five at the Stetston Invitational last weekend. That stretch included topping Long Island (11-8 and 13-8), Stetson (8-5 and 5-3) and Marist (4-3). This season, FAU also has wins over Mississippi (5-4), Kansas (3-2), Clemson (6-2), Minnesota (13-4) and N.C. State (4-3).
It was an at-large participant in last spring's NCAA tournament but dropped both games in the Big Dance (1-0 to South Alabama and 3-2 to Florida Gulf Coast), finishing the season 41-16.
FAU is 2-0 on the road and 3-0 in neutral-site outings.
As a team, the Owls are batting .318, with 103 runs, 12 homers, 19 stolen bases, a 2.50 ERA and a .971 fielding percentage. Its opponents own totals of a .211 batting average, 53 runs, five home runs, 15 stolen bases, a 4.51 ERA and a .945 fielding percentage.
Freshman outfielder Bella Foran leads the offense with a .491 batting average, 10 runs, three doubles, seven RBI, a .545 slugging percentage and a .517 on-base percentage. Junior infielder Jesiana Mora follows at .383, 16 runs, five doubles, 13 RBI, seven stolen bases, a .517 slugging percentage and a .433 on-base percentage. Junior catcher Chloe Yeatts adds a .365 batting average, four doubles, 18 RBI, a .558 slugging percentage and a .424 on-base percentage. Sophomore outfielder Kiley Shelton hits .341, with three doubles, eight RBI, a .477 slugging percentage and a .442 on-base percentage. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Kylie Hammonds rounds out those hitting at least .300, with a .327 average, 11 runs, four doubles, 10 RBI, four stolen bases, a .455 slugging percentage and a .431 on-base percentage.
In the circle, senior Ainsley Lambert is 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA, five saves, 18 strikeouts and four walks in 25 innings. Junior Autumn Courtney is 7-1, with a 1.94 ERA, 54 strikeouts and 12 walks in 43.1 innings. Junior Jaden Martinez is 2-2, with a 3.12 ERA, 26 strikeouts and 17 walks in 24.2 innings; and senior Gabby Sacco is 0-0, with a 3.54 ERA, 13 strikeouts and nine walks in 27.2 innings.
Jordan Clark is the team's head coach. She is in her third season leading the club and owns a 91-39 record.
MSU has faced Florida Atlantic once before, falling 2-1 at the 1995 Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla.
Austin Peay (12-3) appears on the schedule for the second and third time this season. The Eagles and Govs met at the Furman Classic, with APSU claiming victory.
The two are familiar foes. Austin Peay was in the Ohio Valley Conference for most of its athletic history, only moving to the Atlantic Sun prior to the 2022-23 year.
The Govs ran the table at the Furman Classic. In addition to its win against MSU, they toppled Holy Cross 6-1, Furman 8-0 in six innings and Northern Iowa 3-1. They also captured a Wednesday home victory over Middle Tennessee 6-5 in eight innings. APSU is 1-0 at home and 11-3 in all other outings. In total, the Govs have won nine straight, with other wins coming against Tarleton State (6-4), Houston Christian (7-3), Akron (8-3) and South Dakota State (9-4) at the Whataburger Invitational. Its last defeat came by off the bats of SDSU, 10-9, in the Whataburger Invitational opener on February 14.
Austin Peay is batting .319, with 99 runs, 19 home runs, six stolen bases, a 3.36 ERA and a .984 fielding percentage. Its opponents are hitting .274, with 50 runs, seven homers, seven stolen bases, a 5.57 ERA and a .944 fielding percentage.
Five Governors are now batting above .300. Senior utility player Kylie Campbell has a .429 average, with 19 runs, 11 extra-base hits, 13 RBI, a .796 slugging percentage and a .491 on-base percentage. Junior infielder Sammie Shelander bats .405, with five extra-base hits, 18 RBI, a .619 slugging percentage and a .468 on-base percentage. Senior outfielder Raylon Roach is now third on the team in batting average at .382, with eight runs, a .441 slugging percentage and a .447 on-base percentage.
Senior catcher Sam Leski adds a .341 batting average, with nine runs, six homers, 18 RBI, an .805 slugging percentage and a .451 on-base percentage. Sophomore utility player Brie Howard has moved up the list and is now hitting .319, with 13 runs and a .429 on-base percentage.
The team's pitching improved last weekend. Senior Ashley Martin is 3-0, with a 2.18 ERA, 22 strikeouts and 12 walks in 25.2 innings. Junior Emberly Nichols has a 5-2 record, with a 3.55 ERA, 13 strikeouts and 19 walks in 25.2 innings. Senior Samantha Miener adds a 3-1 record, with a 3.66 ERA, 17 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36.1 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 163-129 record.
Morehead State is 46-43-1 all-time against APSU. Before last weekend, the teams previously squared off 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. APSU is 22-17 at home against the Eagles and have won the last six meetings in Clarksville.
MSU will face Northern Kentucky (6-4) for the third time this season with yet another matchup, a road game at NKU, coming on March 12. The Norse have already toppled the Eagles twice in tournaments, 11-0 in five innings on February 8 at Presbyterian and then 18-15 on February 15 at Kennesaw State. The latter tied the highest combined score in MSU history.
The Norse have been off since posting a 2-3 record at the Kennesaw State Tournament two weekends ago. They split with Creighton, winning 3-0 and falling 10-0 in five innings, and dropped a pair of games against host Kennesaw State (5-3 and 9-3).
NKU enters the weekend with a 2-2 mark in true road games and a 4-2 record in neutral-site contests.
As a team, Northern Kentucky is batting .285, with 64 runs, three home runs, 13 stolen bases, a 4.05 ERA and a .964 fielding percentage. Its opponents sport numbers of a .298 batting average, 50 runs, seven homers, seven stolen bases, a 5.09 ERA and a .954 fielding percentage.
Freshman outfielder Campbell Beatty continues to post the best batting average at .400. She also adds nine runs, three doubles, 10 RBI, a .486 slugging percentage and a .463 on-base percentage. Senior outfielder Olivia Pastin is next at .395, with four doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, a .697 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Jena Rhoads adds a .308 batting average, 10 runs, four extra-base hits, seven RBI, a .462 slugging percentage and a .325 on-base percentage.
Sophomore pitcher/utility player Brooklyn Ballis is 3-1, with a 3.73 ERA, 11 strikeouts and nine walks in 30 innings. Senior Alicia Flores is 3-2, with a 5.01 ERA, 14 strikeouts and 12 walks in 22.1 innings. Freshman Kyndall Ford is 0-1, with a 300 ERA, one save, nine strikeouts and six walks in 11.2 innings.
Head coach Morgan Gerak is in her first season.
MSU leads the NKU series 27-15-1. In neutral-site contests, the Eagles are 2-2. Other than the two meetings already this year, the last time the two foes faced was February 16, 2018, with Morehead State claiming a 9-4 victory in Buies Creek, N.C. Since 2013, the Blue and Gold is 10-4 against Northern Kentucky.
Live stats will be available for all five games at the following link:
https://letsgopeay.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary.
Only the games against the host Govs will be broadcast. The link for both is:
https://www.espn.com/search/_/appearance/dark/o/watch/q/austin-peay.
The preseason portion of the schedule ends with the Governors Classic. Next up for MSU is both its first home game and Ohio Valley Conference opener. The Eagles will face SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 8-9. The game times are noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.
