MOREHEAD, Ky. – It will be a day later than originally expected, but the Morehead State softball team will begin Ohio Valley Conference play with its home openers when Eastern Illinois makes its way to University Field at Prefontaine Park for a single game on Sunday (2:30 p.m.) and a doubleheader on Monday (noon and 2:30 p.m.). The two teams were originally slated to meet on Saturday and Sunday, but impending rainy weather forced the schedule to be adjusted.
The change in dates mirrors last year's contests, which also were moved to Sunday and Monday. Those games were played in Charleston, Ill. It marks the third time this season the Eagles' schedule has been impacted by the weather, including the season-opening Blue Hose Invitational and the George Mason Tournament. The former competition saw the switching around of opponents, with the latter being canceled outright.
"We're excited to open up at home this weekend. We've been battling hard on the road and we're ready to take the lessons we've learned in preseason into conference," MSU coach
Megan Griffith said. "Hitters have been making good adjustments and defense has been playing clean and consistent."
Morehead State (1-13) has struggled to win games this season, but the squad has been exceptionally competitive and done so against challenging competition. The Eagles have played in seven one-run contests, with three going to extra innings. Only one game has been decided by more than eight runs and that came in the season opener a month ago.
Last weekend, MSU dropped games with Lamar (6-2), Jackson State (2-1), Southern Mississippi (4-3 in 10 innings) and Chattanooga (11-10 in eight innings) at Southern Miss' Eagle Hub City Classic. It also picked up its first win there, defeating Lamar 8-7 in the opener after coming back from a 7-0 deficit, marking it the largest known come-from-behind victory after trailing from the start. The victory also snapped a 34-game winless road streak dating back to February of 2025.
Behind her performance at the tournament, junior
Ainsley Stubbs was named the OVC's co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday. She finished the weekend with a 1-1 record, a 1.66 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, with 13 strikeouts and seven walks in 12 and two-thirds innings, largely in relief.
The Eagles were 7-8 at home last spring and enter the weekend having won their last three outings at the University Field, having swept a series with Western Illinois there on April 26-27, 2025.
The team's 2026 record belies the true tale as its numbers tell a different story. It is batting .275, averaging 5.0 runs per game, with six home runs, seven stolen bases, a 7.97 ERA and a .954 fielding percentage. Its opponents are hitting .368, with 8.71 rpg, seven home runs, 21 stolen bases, a 3.73 ERA and a .943 fielding percentage.
Yet digging deeper into the stats, MSU has made significant strides over this point last year, when the club had a .247 batting average, a .940 fielding average and a -1.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This season, the latter mark is 1.32. MSU also has at least four hits in every game this season, recording seven or more eight times.
Individually, junior outfielder
Maddy Christopher continues to lead the way. In Mississippi, she batted .474 with four RBI and three runs. On the season, she is hitting .423, with 12 runs, two doubles, six RBI, a .462 slugging percentage and a .446 on-base percentage. Junior catcher/third baseman
Sydney Farmer owns a .319 batting average, with 14 runs, five doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, a .596 slugging percentage and a .333 on-base percentage. Junior infielder
Sage VanDemark adds a .304 batting average, five runs, two doubles, 10 RBI, six walks, a .413 slugging percentage and a .385 on-base percentage.
In the circle, the squad has seen its greatest improvement over a year ago. Freshman
Allicen Harris is 0-4, with a 4.15 ERA, 11 strikeouts and five walks in 30 and one-third innings. Stubbs has a 1-5 record, with an 8.16 ERA, 34 strikeouts and 21 walks in 34 and one-third innings. Senior pitcher
Rylie Burney has an 0-4 record, a 12.16 ERA, with 20 strikeouts and 19 walks in 25 and one-third innings.
Like MSU, Eastern Illinois (5-16) went 1-4 at last weekend's tournament. The Panthers fell to No. 22-ranked Grand Canyon 4-0 and 8-0 in five innings, UNLV 9-0 in six innings and No. 24 Arizona State 9-4, after opening with a 2-0 win over UC Riverside. Prior to their win, they dropped seven straight. However, included in their 21 games to date, they have played five contests against top-25 opponents. Overall, the team is 5-16 away from home, 1-7 in true road games and 1-11 in their last 12 outings this season.
EIU won the OVC regular-season and tournament in 2025. It was picked to finish third in this year's preseason poll.
As a team, the Panthers are hitting .233, with 2.67 rpg, seven home runs, 17 stolen bases, a 6.55 ERA and a .965 fielding percentage. Their opponents are batting .330, with 6.52 rpg, 18 home runs, 49 stolen bases, a 2.19 ERA and a .963 fielding percentage.
Senior catcher Lexie Griffin leads the team with a .288 batting average, four doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, a .538 slugging percentage and a .351 on-base percentage. Junior infielder Chloe Wamboldt is hitting .277, with 10 runs, two doubles, eight stolen bases and a .338 on-base percentage. Junior infielder Alisha Frederick is batting .254, with seven runs, five RBI, six walks and a .323 on-base percentage.
The team's top pitcher in the last two seasons, McKenzie Oslanzi has transferred to Kentucky. So, the Panthers have turned to sophomore Rylan Gick, who is 2-3, with a 5.52 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 31 walks in 39 and one-third innings. Senior Bryanna French adds a 2-4 record, a 5.98 ERA, 32 strikeouts and 26 walks in 41 innings. Senior Karlie McKenze is 0-7, with a 9.19 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 24 walks in 26 and two-thirds innings.
The two teams have had no common opponents so far this season.
Kristi Paulson and Dan Paulson are the Panthers' co-head coaches. They are 39-38 in their second year at EIU.
Eastern Illinois has owned the series with the Eagles, having won the last 23 meetings and leading it 56-24. MSU's last victory came in 2015, when it won 4-3 at home. Last year, EIU came out on top 7-3, 9-0 in five innings and 6-5, all in Charleston, Ill. MSU trails 23-11 at home. Its last home games against the Panthers came in 2024, when the visitors won 5-4 in eight innings, 14-5 in six innings and 8-2. EIU has won the last 14 contests in Morehead. The Eagles last won a series against Eastern Illinois in 2010.
The weekend promotions will be "Bark in the Park" on Sunday and "International Women's Day" with a t-shirt giveaway on Monday.
The link to purchase tickets for the series is:
https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/18447.
Live stats are available for all three contests. They can be found at the following links:
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=639465 (game one),
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=639466 (game two) and
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=639467 (game three). The games will also be broadcast on ESPN+. The links are as follows: Game 1 (
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d74b4ae9-979b-412a-b566-1b3c168c9382), Game 2 (
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a0fbd6d6-fa56-400d-a6b7-942ddb7a5fbe) and Game 3 (
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3c9f84a2-b5ea-4506-aa88-73516060f988).
Morehead State will travel for its next eight games, including a midweek doubleheader at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The team will have OVC contests at SIU Edwardsville and Western Illinois over the following two weekends, before returning home for a three-game set against Tennessee Tech in its last trip to MSU as an OVC school. Those outings will be on Saturday, Mar. 28 (doubleheader) and Sunday, Mar. 29 (single game).
