The Murray State Racers will play the Illinois State Redbirds in a Missouri Valley Conference softball series on April 25 and 26 in Normal, Illinois.
This matchup is important as both teams are competing for higher positions in the conference standings. The Redbirds currently hold third place with a record of 25-16 overall and 14-8 in conference play, while the Racers are fifth at 20-21 overall and 11-9 in the MVC.
The Racers recently split a doubleheader against second-place SIU Salukis. In their first game, they lost narrowly, but Adison Hicks hit a two-RBI home run. Pitchers Bre Haislip and Raylee Roby performed well despite the loss. In the second game, Parker Holcombe led with three hits and two RBI as Murray State won 3-0. Karlye Graber earned her first win since March after allowing just three hits as a reliever.
Offensively, Murray State holds a .274 team batting average this season. Holcombe leads with an average of .348, while Kynadee Warner has collected a team-high 47 hits and maintains a .343 average. Kenley Minor leads with six home runs and was named MVC Player of the Week earlier this month. Bailey Broemmer follows closely behind with five home runs.
On the pitching side, Haislip has posted nine wins with an ERA of 2.81 over nearly 120 innings pitched. Graber has contributed six wins while Roby adds depth to the staff with solid performances throughout recent games.
Illinois State enters under head coach Tina Kramos for her fourth year at the helm. Bella Atkinson leads their offense, ranking among conference leaders in batting average (.406), RBI (42), and home runs (10). Paige McLeod heads their pitching staff with seventeen wins and an ERA of 2.48 across more than one hundred thirty innings pitched.
Fans can follow updates on social media through official Murray State Athletics accounts.
