Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
DENISON, Texas - Nine extra base hits keyed an opening victory and the Murray State Lady Aggies rode pitching and defense to a sweep in the TWF Winter Blast on Saturday.

Coach Aaron Mullens' club powered its way to a 16-5 run rule over Cowley County College in the opener before rallying past Paris Junior College, 3-2, in a low-scoring game two.

Now 12-0 on the season, the 11^th ranked Lady Aggies will put their 69-game regular season winning streak on the line at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a huge early showdown when they visit NJCAA Division I power and currently fifth-rated Grayson County College.

Murray State set the tone for the game one barrage, notching five of its 16 hits in the five-inning run rule. Bradi Harman got the scoring started with a one-out RBI double. Haili Igou, Shaylin Midgley and Gracie Lute all notched singles ahead of a walk and flurry capping grand slam off the bat of Brighton O'Connor which made it a 7-0 lead.

The Kansas foe responded with five tallies in the second frame to narrow the gap before Brooklyn Ellis came on in relief and slammed the door on the Lady Tiger offense the rest of the way. The freshman from Muskogee twirled three and one-third scoreless no-hit frames of relief to pick up the pitching win.

Murray State's offense was far from finished, however, plating a single run in the third, five more in the fourth and three in the fifth to end things early. Courtney Gray doubled and scored for the lone third inning tally with Igou tripling in a run and Midgley and Gray each homering to drive in two apiece one frame later.

Igou doubled again in the fifth and Lute wrapped up the scoring with a bases-loaded double.

Lute, Igou and Midgley all had three hits to lead the Lady Aggie arsenal with Lute knocking in four and Igou and Midgley two apiece. O'Connor, Gray and Harman notched two hits each with O'Connor posting four RBI. Mattie Richardson added one hit and drove in one.

For one of the rare times early this season, Murray State spotted an opponent the lead in the nightcap and a hitting edge for the game as Paris bolted to a 2-0 edge in the top of the first stanza.

The Lady Aggies answered with one in its half of the opening frame when Karsyn York led off with a walk and coasted home two batters later on a Harman double.

O'Connor started a two-out rally in the second inning with a single and immediately came around to tie the game on a Richardson double to center. York then gave Murray State the lead for good with a RBI single to right.

Dara Hamlin tossed the opening three innings in the pitching circle, yielding two runs on five hits, but Ellis notched her second win of the day in firing four scoreless frames of four-hit relief.

York was the only player with multiple hits for the Lady Aggies with a pair of singles. Harman, Igou and Richardson all doubled as Gray and O'Connor added the other hits in the contest.