UNI softball begins Missouri Valley play at Murray State

UNI softball at Murray State

5 p.m. | March 17
Murray, Ky. | Racer Field (500)
ESPN+

UNI softball at Murray State

2 p.m. | March 18
Murray, Ky. | Racer Field (500)
ESPN3

UNI softball at Murray State

12 p.m. | March 19
Murray, Ky. | Racer Field (500)
ESPN+

MURRAY, Ky. -- The Panthers start conference action with a new conference foe this weekend.

UNI gets to try out the new MVC series schedule of one game a day over the weekend down in Kentucky this weekend. The Panthers have their first series of the Missouri Valley Conference season against the Murray State Racers. This is only the second time UNI has been to Racer Field, the first being for Murray State's annual Racer Classic back in 2019. In that tournament, the Panthers went 2-2 with wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and the Racers.

THE PANTHERS:
- UNI continues to improve their game as the non-conference portion of the season came to a close over the weekend. The Panthers had a winning record at the Tulsa Invitational, going 3-2 against Sam Houston State and hosts Tulsa. UNI beat Sam Houston State twice while having one victory over the Golden Hurricane in an offensive explosion.
- The Panthers are clicking on both offense and defense over the past two weeks. UNI has raised their fielding percentage and batting average since being on the road in March. Currently, the Panthers lead the Missouri Valley Conference in slugging percentage, home runs, and sacrifice flys.
- UNI picked up its fourth weekly honor from Missouri Valley Conference staff on Tuesday. Pitcher Samantha Heyer was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week for her performance at the Tulsa invitational, appearing in all three of the Panthers' wins and pitching two complete games.
- The Panthers exit the non-conference portion of the season with a winning record of 11-9. It's the first time in four years that UNI has entered MVC play with a record of .500 or higher and the first since 2018 at above .500.

THE RACERS:
- Murray State enters conference play with a record of 14-9 with one non-conference game left on Wednesday night before playing the Panthers on Friday. The Racers had one non-conference opponent in common with UNI, playing Kennesaw State twice for two wins.
- The Racers hosted their annual Racer Classic last weekend where they went 2-2 with a pair of wins over Youngstown State and a pair of non-MVC losses to Illinois State. On offense, Murray State scored just six runs over the weekend but made each run count as five of their 15 hits went for extra bases.
- Murray State relies heavily on the pitching duo of Jenna Veber and Hannah James. The two pitchers lead the Valley in three different pitching categories including strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.00), victories (eight), and walks allowed per game (1.03).
- The Racers have one of the most plunked batters in the country at the moment. Redshirt junior infielder, Lily Fischer has now been hit by a pitch 10 times this season. Fischer leads the Racers all-time in HBPs with 51 and is also third nationally in the category among active players.

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