MOREHEAD, Ky. – It is easy to write off a team with one win through 14 games, but a closer examination at the Morehead State softball team's progress and achievements this week tells a different story.
That showed in tangible matters on Monday afternoon as the Ohio Valley Conference named junior pitcher
Ainsley Stubbs as its co-Pitcher of the Week as voted upon by the softball communication representatives from each of the league's schools.
Stubbs, a native of Columbia, Mo., became the first pitcher to be recognized with a league player of the week honor since Lennon Spicer received the Pitcher of the Week award on May 3, 2022. Prior to that, you have to go back to April 2, 2018, to find an Eagle hurler that was selected for the honor.
That past weekend, Morehead State went 1-4 against a loaded field at the Eagle Hub City Classic but nearly flipped that script by playing four of those games to a one-run margin. The Eagles rallied from a seven-run opening deficit to defeat Lamar on Friday 8-7, with Stubbs earning the victory in a relief effort. MSU then fell to defending Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament champion Jackson State 2-1, host Southern Mississippi 4-3 in 10 innings, defending Southern Conference regular season titlist Chattanooga 11-10 in eight innings, before concluding the weekend by dropping a 6-2 decision to Lamar.
Stubbs pitched in all five of the team's games this weekend and held opponents to a .200 batting average, while adding a 1-1 record, a 1.66 ERA, with 13 strikeouts, seven walks and one wild pitch in 12 and two-thirds innings. In addition, she allowed nine hits and finished with a 1.26 WHIP. She made one errorless play in the field.
"It is a huge honor to be recognized by the conference! This was definitely a team effort, and I am just one part of that team effort!" she said. "I could not do any of this without the support of my team!"
Stubbs picked up the team's first victory of the year by pitching five innings in relief against Lamar. In that game, she went five innings, surrendering one run (earned), on one hit, with two strikeouts and two walks. Against Jackson State, she pitched two scoreless innings of relief, without allowing a hit. She struck out two and walked one. In the Southern Miss game, she threw two and two-thirds innings in relief and suffered the loss, surrendering no earned runs (one unearned) on two hits, with five strikeouts and three walks. In another relief appearance against Chattanooga, she pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing one earned run on two hits, with a walk and no strikeouts. She closed the game with Lamar on Sunday, working two and one-third innings, yielding one earned run on two hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.
"I'm very proud of Ainsley. She has bought into what we are working on here and has grown so much during her time with us. She's a true competitor and it's a lot of fun to see that on the mound," said MSU head coach
Megan Griffith. "She's been solid in the tough situations she's been called on (to pitch), and I'm excited to see her continue to grow and compete."
Stubbs was a key contributor to the team's tournament-opening victory over Lamar that snapped a string of road defeats that stretched back to February of 2025. That game also featured MSU's largest come-from-behind victory after starting the game with a deficit in school history according to available records.
"It was a good game. (Senior) Rylie (Burney) started it off well in the circle and allowed me to come in and help finish the game," Stubbs said of her outing against Lamar. "I worked hard on keeping hitters off balance, but it came down to my defense behind me making every single play they could and our offense chipping away and (we were able to) put the win up!"
Stubbs shared the Pitcher of the Week award with UT Martin's Payton Harris. Lindenwood's Anna Sanders was named the Player of the Week, with MSU junior outfielder
Maddy Christopher (.474 batting average, three runs, one double, four RBI, one stolen base, a .526 slugging percentage and a .524 on-base percentage) finishing as the runner-up.
Over the last five seasons, Morehead State has had at least one player earn an OVC weekly honor. Last year, sophomore utility player
Nyla Doiron was named co-Player of the Week on April 30, 2025.
The Eagles have made major statistical strides across the board this season. Over the past year, their strikeout-to-walk ratio has gone from -1.91 to +1.32, while their batting average has improved 28 points and fielding percentage 14 points.
On the season, Stubbs has a 1-5 overall record, with an 8.16 ERA over 34.1 innings. However, she has more strikeouts than the rest of the pitching staff combined (34) and has walked just 21 batters.
Morehead State will open the home and OVC portion of its season this week, when Eastern Illinois comes to town for a three-game set beginning on Saturday with a doubleheader at noon. The teams close out the series with a single game on Sunday with the first pitch also starting at noon.
