Murray offense stays hot in win

MURRAY – Murray softball continued its hot streak, winning its third straight game with a 9-3 win over Chariton Wednesday.

The bats have led the way through the past week for the Lady Mustangs, outscoring opponents 37-6 and averaging 12 runs per game.

Wednesday, the offense again was the catalyst for a team that has had ups and downs all season long.

“I think just focusing, and making sure that we’re seeing the ball,” Murray head coach Tessa Otto said on what sparked the offense the past three games. “We have a lot of potential, a lot of good hitters.”

Paired with a strong performance at the plate was Teryn Shields finding her way out of jams in the circle. She pitched all seven innings, allowing three runs, all three coming off errors on the defense and struck out five Charger batters.

One run scored in the second inning as a Chariton runner advanced to third and an errant throw got away from Bailey Frederick.

The Chargers scored again in the third inning. After Shields allowed a ground-rule double to put runners on second and third with two outs, she made an error on the throw to first from a soft hit ball back to her to give Chariton its three runs.

Otto said the defense struggled throughout the season, but they were able to limit it tonight.

“(Shields) did great pitching tonight,” Otto said. “... She is learning, and I think that at the end of the season it’s finally coming through on what she needs to do.”

The Lady Mustangs gave Shields support early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Frederick drove in two from second and third to put Murray up 2-0. Jalie Baumfaulk continued the scoring, driving in two more on one hit in the first inning.

The top of the third inning saw Murray threaten again, knocking the ball to all fields. Frederick dove in another run on a single to give Murray its fifth run of the game, and a bloop single drove her in to extend the lead to 6-3.

The inning continued as the Lady Mustangs loaded the bases with no outs. Back-to-back outs put Chloe Church at the plate. She hit a hard ground ball between the third baseman and shortstop to add two more, giving Murray an 8-3 lead.

Frederick drove in another in the bottom of the fourth before a few base running errors late in the game kept Murray from scoring double digits for the third consecutive game.

“We’re finally getting it. Our hitters are going, so that’s good,” Otto said.

Frederick finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Church and Jalie Baumfaulk each drove in two RBIs as well.

With one more game in the regular season remaining, Otto said the group is starting to play well and figure things out before they face Melcher-Dallas in the first round of Class 1A Region 5 postseason play.

“A lot of coaches will say, ‘if you’re going to win games, win them at the end.’ So that’s kind of what we’re doing,” Otto said.

UP NEXT – Murray plays Seymour on the road Friday at 6 p.m. to finish the regular season.

Murray 9, Chariton 3

R  H  E

CH  012  000 0— 3 4 1

MU  404  100 X — 9 12 2

CH: Layne Braby 6IP 7Ks 2BB and Addie McGee. MU: Teryn Shields 7IP 5Ks 3BB and Zoey Black. W - Shields. L - Braby. HR — None. 3B — None. 2B – CH: McGee. MU: Chloe Church, Emma Decker, Jalie Baumfaulk3. RBI – MU: Frederick (4), Church (2), Baumfaulk (2), Black (1). Multiple hits — CH: McGee (3). MU: Church (3), Decker (2), Frederick (2), Black (2).