MOREHEAD, Ky. – Bolstered by its series victory over Southern Indiana this past weekend, the Morehead State softball team is looking to continue its recent successes as it hosts Bellarmine in the final contest of a four-game home stand on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the University Field at Prefontaine Park in Morehead.
And there might not be a better opponent for the Eagles to face than the Knights. Morehead State (3-26/2-7) has the second-best winning percentage against BU than any team it has played at least 10 times at 90 percent (18-2). Only Kentucky State (14-0) ranks ahead of the Knights on that list.
The Eagles four-game home stand is their third longest of the season, with a five-game and six-game stretch to come later in the season.
Morehead State has played its best softball in three of its last four games. In addition to its weekend results against Southern Indiana (winning 9-0 in five innings on Friday and 5-1 in seven innings on Saturday, while falling 14-4 in five innings in Saturday's second game), the team ended its most recent road trip coming up short 6-5 in a road decision at Eastern Illinois on Monday. The Eagles dropped the first Monday contest 9-0 in five innings as well as a 7-3 result on Sunday.
"We're looking to build off of the momentum for this weekend," said MSU coach
Megan Griffith. "We're going to use the full staff in the circle and play strong defense behind them. Hitters are continuing to be aggressive and execute our offensive plan."
Griffith also got good news this week that junior pitcher
Emma Solis will be available, after the junior college transfer missed both of the last two Ohio Valley Conference series. With Solis out, MSU relied on junior
Rylie Burney to pitch nearly every game.
Morehead State's victory on Friday snapped a pair of long skids, including winning at home. This season, the Eagles are 2-4 at University Field. In addition, MSU's recent results marked both the first 2-game win streak and the first series win since Mar. 29-30, 2024, at Western Illinois. The 9-0 Friday victory also was the squad's first positive run-rule result since that first contest last year at WIU. The last time the Eagles captured a regular-season five-inning contest was Mar. 27, 2022, against Austin Peay (9-1). The last time it won by nine runs was on Mar. 17, 2021, versus Kentucky State (10-1 in five innings).
The Blue and Gold continue to generate offense like it has not achieved in years. It has raised its team batting average after each of the last three weekend series and is now hitting better than it has in the last nine years (not counting the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign). The club has at least five hits in 20 of its 29 games, has recorded four or more hits 24 times and has at least three hits in all but three contests.
As a team, the Eagles have a .263 batting average, scoring 3.55 runs per game, with seven home runs, 18 stolen bases, a 7.59 ERA and a .945 fielding percentage. Their opponents are hitting .350, averaging 7.93 rpg, have recorded 27 home runs and stolen 51 bases, while posting a 2.73 ERA and a .945 fielding percentage.
No player has made a bigger impact with her bat than sophomore infielder
Kendra Lewis, who has hit .330 or better by the end of each week this season. Lewis currently owns a .378 batting average, the seventh-best mark in the OVC, while leading or sitting tied for the lead on the squad in runs (18), doubles (six), triples (two), home runs (two), slugging percentage (.573), walks (15), stolen bases (five) and on-base percentage (.474). She also adds 11 RBI.
Sophomore
Maddy Christopher is the only other Eagle batting over .300 at .323. She has scored 14 times, has a .344 on-base percentage, five stolen bases and only struck out in 11 percent of her at-bats.
Senior center fielder
Darlene Montoya is batting .284, with 14 runs, five doubles, two homers, 14 RBI, a .409 slugging percentage and a .316 on-base percentage. Senior utility player
Ilencia Lightbody follows with a .264 batting average, 11 runs, six doubles, a .417 slugging percentage, a .321 on-base percentage and three stolen bases.
Sophomore shortstop
Sela Pickford is one of two position players who have been called upon to pitch. However, she is making a more noticeable contribution with her defense. According to a survey sent out to all Division I softball schools, Pickford's .982 fielding percentage is the best for a shortstop with at least 100 chances than anyone else in the nation. Florida State's Isa Torres is next at .981.
Pickford ranks 94th in Division I in defensive assists per game at 2.14. At the plate, she is hitting .258, with four doubles, a .382 slugging percentage and a .333 on-base percentage. She leads the team with 16 RBI.
MSU has largely relied upon two junior pitchers: Burney (2-13 record, 5.92 ERA, 27 strikeouts and 50 walks in 97 innings) and Solis (1-9 record, 8.40 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 35 walks in 55 innings).
Bellarmine (4-17) has dropped 10 games in a row, including being shut out six times during that stretch. All 10 of those outings came at home. The Knights have played a difficult schedule, with its last four outings coming against Eastern Kentucky (9-0, 11-0, 13-0) and Kentucky (5-0). Prior to that, they dropped three meetings with Austin Peay (6-4, 2-0, 4-0).
The team has only played three true road games and is 1-2 in those contests. In all outings away from home, it is 4-7. Its last road contest was at Louisville on February 26 (10-0 defeat in five innings). Prior to that, it fell to Charleston Southern (6-4) on February 9. Its lone win was two days earlier (Feb. 7) also against CSU (4-3). The Knights are going to play seven of their next eight games on the road.
As a team, BU is hitting .188, while averaging 2.19 rpg. It also has hit six homers and stolen 12 bases. It adds a 4.84 ERA and a .941 fielding percentage. Its opponents are batting.312; and averaging 5.57 rpg, with 11 homers, 33 stolen bases, a 1.31 ERA and a .962 fielding percentage.
No Knight is hitting above .300. The top batter is sophomore outfielder Jadyn Thompson (.282, .333 slugging percentage, .300 on-base percentage). Senior infielder Harlie Bickett is next at .250, with team highs in runs (10), doubles (five), RBI (seven), stolen bases (five) and on-base percentage (.370). Five different players have hit a home run, with senior utility player Megan Konermann leading the way with two. Kornermann also has seven RBI and a .462 slugging percentage. Senior infielder Chloe Collins from nearby Raceland-Worthington High School is third on the team with a .190 batting average.
Three players have shared the bulk of the pitching duties. Graduate student Kelsie Houchens has a 1-6 record, with a 4.32 ERA, with 13 strikeouts and 24 walks in 48.2 innings. Senior Claire Lehmkuhler is 2-9, with a 4.50 ERA, with 28 strikeouts and 20 walks in 46.2 innings. Sophomore Selena Zuniga is 1-1, with a 5.00 ERA, one save, 10 strikeouts and seven walks in 30 innings. Zuniga attended the same high school as Eagle senior
Darlene Montoya.
The two teams have four players who played together at Lake Land (Ill.) College in 2023-24: BU seniors utility player Mackayla Denney and infielder Serenity Shemwell, and MSU juniors Burney and infielder
Jordan Donato.
Bellarmine was scheduled to play Tennessee Tech on March 5, but that game was cancelled. The Golden Eagles reappear on the slate on April 2. BU has faced an opponent three times that has already appeared on MSU's schedule. Austin Peay is 3-0 against both MSU and the Knights this spring. The Govs topped BU 7-4, 4-0 and 2-0 and Morehead State 10-1 in five innings, 7-1 and 9-1 in six innings. Bellarmine played APSU at home, while the Eagles faced them in Clarksville, Tenn., and Greenville, S.C.
Eastern Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay appear on both teams' schedules this spring.
Caitlyn de la Haba is in her third season leading the Bellarmine program. She has a record of 21-94-1. Like MSU coach Griffith, de la Haba spent two years as an assistant at George Mason.
Morehead State has faced Bellarmine 20 times, but Wednesday will be the first time it will not be in a part of a two-game set. In addition to their 18-2 lead, the Eagles are 11-1 against the Knights at home. MSU has won the last six overall meetings and last five at home. The most recent matchups came on Feb. 26-27, 2021, when the Blue and Gold won 10-4 and 8-6 in Louisville, Ky. The last time the two squared off in Morehead, MSU won 4-1 and 7-5 on Mar. 31, 2010. Prior to that, the Eagles swept four games against BU in 1990 and 1991, and won both times they faced in 2005 and 2008. Bellarmine's victories were 10-2 at home on Apr. 10, 1991, and in Morehead 4-3 on Apr. 26, 2007.
Live stats are available at the link:
https://shorturl.at/aMGnI.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be seen at:
https://shorturl.at/yPjt4.
The Eagles will next play a three-game series at Tennessee State, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single contest on Sunday. Game times have not yet been set. Morehead State will be back at home when archrival Eastern Kentucky comes to town on Wednesday, Apr. 2 for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
