MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State softball team has struggled on the road this season, but the Eagles have been very competitive in their last six road games, all coming against Ohio Valley Conference opponents.
The Blue and Gold will get another chance to right the ship this week when it travels to Evansville, Ind., to face Southern Indiana in a doubleheader on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET and 3:30 p.m. ET, and in a single contest on Friday at 1 p.m. ET at the USI Softball Field.
The original schedule had the teams matching up on Friday and Saturday, but weather caused a change in plans. It marks the sixth time this season the Eagles have had their schedule altered due to impending or current weather. It is the second consecutive year the slate between the two was rearranged.
Morehead State (2-28/1-11) continues to put up impressive offensive numbers. The Eagles are coming off a weekend in which they batted .316 in three home games against Tennessee Tech. Although the Golden Eagles won 15-10, 10-3 and 7-3, MSU scored 16 runs and had eight extra-base hits.
As good as the Eagles were with the bats last year, they are on pace to better those totals in 2026.
On the season, MSU is tracking having the fewest strikeouts in a year in over 20 years, and the most hits and runs since 2013. The team had 18 home runs last year and already has 16 this season at just past the halfway point. Additionally, the Blue and Gold is well on its way to equaling or bettering its marks in batting average, doubles, RBI and slugging percentage over last year, which in many of those cases were the top totals in a dozen seasons.
The Eagles are even on par with last spring's ERA and fielding percentage numbers and continue to have a better strikeout-to-walk ratio, although none of those categories are where the coaching staff would like them to be.
Two stats where the team is falling below last year's totals are walks drawn and stolen bases, with the latter total at just nine and on pace to be the fewest in school history, including the Covid-19 season.
As effective as MSU has been with the long ball, coach
Megan Griffith has a different focus entering the matchup with Southern Indiana.
"We are working to put it all together this weekend with strong performances from pitching and defense. We will focus on controlling the short game and base running against USI," she said.
As a team, Morehead State is batting .274, with 4.69 runs per game, 16 home runs, nine stolen bases, a 7.50 ERA and a .946 fielding percentage. Its opponents are hitting .368, with 8.15 rpg, 17 homers, 36 stolen bases, a 3.66 ERA and a .947 fielding percentage.
Five Eagles dominate the offense. Junior outfielder
Maddy Christopher continues to lead the way with a .380 batting average, 23 runs, a .400 slugging percentage and a .406 on-base percentage. Junior first baseman
Noemye Letendre is hitting .322, with four home runs, 18 RBI, a .542 slugging percentage, just seven strikeouts and a .375 on-base percentage. Junior second baseman
Sage VanDemark contributes a .315 batting average, six doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI, a .483 slugging percentage, 12 walks and a .396 on-base percentage. Junior infielder
Sela Pickford has a .305 batting average, with 20 runs, seven doubles, two home runs, 17 RBI, a .463 slugging percentage, three stolen bases and a .333 on-base percentage. Junior catcher/third baseman
Sydney Farmer is hitting .303, with 20 runs, 10 doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI, a .539 slugging percentage, just four strikeouts, three stolen bases and a .326 on-base percentage. Senior outfielder
Taikibrea Campbell, who has missed the last five games due to an injury, is expected to be back in action this weekend. She is tied for the team lead in home runs with four.
The pitching has had its bright spots. Freshman
Allicen Harris continues to lead the league with the fewest walks at 11. She has a 0-11 record, with a 5.10 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 57 and two-thirds innings. Junior
Ainsley Stubbs is 2-8, with a 7.56 ERA, 53 strikeouts and 43 walks in 66 and two-thirds innings. Senior
Rylie Burney is 0-5, with a 10.42 ERA, 24 strikeouts and 39 walks in 45 innings.
This spring, MSU is 1-7 in true road games and 2-18 overall away from home. It has dropped five straight outings, including its last two on the road.
Southern Indiana (10-19.7-5) has dropped its last three games, including being swept this past weekend at Lindenwood, 2-0, 15-6 (five innings) and 3-2. Prior to that, it fell at home to Southeast Missouri 10-5. Before the SEMO outing, the Screaming Eagles had won four in a row.
USI is 5-1 at home this season.
The only common opponent is Western Illinois. Southern Indiana lost at WIU 5-3 and then came back to defeat the Leathernecks 4-12 and 15-4 in five innings. Morehead State beat Western Illinois 7-5, before falling 10-9 in 10 innings and 4-2.
As a team, the Screaming Eagles are hitting .248, while averaging 3.55 rpg, with one home run, 37 stolen bases, a 5.04 ERA and a .949 fielding percentage. Their opponents are batting .316, with 5.79 rpg, nine home runs, 53 stolen bases, a 3.02 ERA and a .969 fielding percentage.
Like MSU, Southern Indiana has five players batting over .300. Senior outfielder Caroline Stapleton is hitting .321 with 23 runs, seven RBI, eight stolen bases and a .345 on-base percentage. Freshman outfielder Katelyn Marx is hitting .319, with 20 runs, four doubles, 12 RBI, nine stolen bases, a .407 slugging percentage and a .330 on-base percentage. Junior catcher/infielder Alyssa Mumaw contributes a .316 average, four doubles, seven RBI, a .421 slugging percentage and a .381 on-base percentage. Freshman infielder Jadyn Tinsley chips in a .308 batting average, three doubles, seven RBI and a .377 on-base percentage. Junior infielder Sydney Long adds a .300 batting average, four doubles, 15 RBI, nine walks, five stolen bases and a .376 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Kate Satkoski is hitting .292, with 11 runs, nine RBI, 10 walks and eight stolen bases.
In the circle, freshman Anna Kemp is 3-8, with a 4.38 ERA, 42 strikeouts and 47 walks in 62 and one-third innings. Sophomore Kylie Witthaus is 2-5, with a 5.33 ERA, 36 strikeouts and 42 walks in 68 and one-third innings. Freshman Elly Robbins is 5-6, with a 5.58 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 27 walks in 47 and two-thirds innings.
Coach Sue Kunkle is in her 25th year leading the Screaming Eagles. The winningest coach in program history, she currently owns a record of 701-509-1. She spent one year as an assistant coach at MSU in the mid-90s.
USI leads Morehead State 8-6, but the Eagles went 2-for-3 last season at home, claiming victories of 9-0 in five innings and 5-1, before falling in the finale 14-4 in five innings. Southern Indiana is 5-0 at home against the Blue and Gold, including sweeping the 2024 contests 4-1, 2-1 in nine innings and 8-0 in five innings. In 2023 in Morehead, the Screaming Eagles won 9-5 and 6-4, with the Eagles capturing a 6-5 victory. The teams also met twice at MSU in 2007 and twice at USI in 2005, with both sides sweeping the games at home. The scores of the latter contests were 7-0 and 2-0. The only other meeting came in 1991, with Morehead State claiming an 8-0 neutral-site victory.
Live stats are available for all three games. There is a single link for all three:
https://usiscreamingeagles.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary.
The games will not be televised.
Morehead State will stay on the road for a mid-week game, its first of the season, when it heads east on I-64 to face Kentucky on Wednesday in a single contest at 6 p.m. The Eagles are back at home to host Tennessee State on April 11-12, with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. and a single contest on Sunday at noon.
