Murray St. pitcher gears up for a key late-season stretch

At 6-foot-7, Central graduate and Murray State senior Craig Ringwald has quite a presence on the mound.

And while that presence helped Central to a district title in 1996 and Three Rivers Community College to a 50-10 record and a No. 8 national ranking in 1999, Ringwald's first year with the Racers was not a smashing success.

Last season Ringwald posted a 7.13 earned-run average and a 4-3 record for the 20-33 Racers, who came within a game of the championship round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

"I had some elbow soreness. I didn't have the same velocity," Ringwald said.

The big left-hander has rebounded well though, and he now owns the OVC's fifth best ERA at 3.33. Ringwald is tied for first on the Racers' staff in innings pitched (51.1), leads the team in strikeouts (47) and has a 3-2 record.

"The big part of it is being healthy and staying in a routine," Ringwald said.

With his success, Ringwald has been honored twice as OVC pitcher of the week, most recently for the week ending April 20. Ringwald's OVC ERA is a sizzling 2.25, second in the conference.

Ringwald said despite his impressive numbers, the only thing on his mind is winning an OVC title.

"If you're worried about your stats you're probably not going to worry about the team," he said. "The only stat that matters is the wins."

With the help of Ringwald's strong pitching performances, the Racers are 17-20 and 6-5 in the OVC in a three-way tie for third place, a game behind first-place Tennessee Tech.

"Whoever gets hot down the stretch is probably going to have a chance to win it," Ringwald said.

Ringwald and his Murray State teammates are looking to put together a late-season push to pick up an OVC title for retiring coach Mike Thieke. Thieke has been the coach at Murray State for 10 years and has a 225-295-2 record.

"We'd like to take him out on top," Ringwald said.

Murray State closes the season at home against Ringwald's hometown school, Southeast Missouri State. Ringwald may have an edge in the matchup after playing with several Southeast players on the Capahas last season, a summer league team based in Cape Girardeau.

"That might determine the conference champion right there," Ringwald said of the Southeast series.

Noteworthy

Natalie Lewer, a Kelly graduate and freshman at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Ark., threw the first no-hitter in school history for the softball team. Lewer struck out eight in a 1-0 win over Missouri Baptist University.

Notre Dame graduate and Maryville University senior Jason Garner was chosen MVP of the men's soccer team at Maryville's annual sports banquet Monday. Amanda Nuyt, a freshman and graduate of Perryville High School, was chosen best newcomer for the women's soccer team.

Notre Dame graduate Josh Eftink is hitting .385 for Jefferson College, a two-year school in Hillsboro, Mo. Eftink, a Southeast transfer, leads the team with 27 RBIs and 31 runs scored. Chaffee graduate Matt Stroup is third on the team with 33 strikeouts and second in innings pitched.

A pair of local baseball players faced off in the Big 12 on April 19 when Missouri's Garrett Broshuis, an Advance graduate, matched up against Baylor's Ross Bennett, a Central graduate. Bennett went 6-for-13 in the series, while Broshuis lasted only two thirds of an inning in a 23-18 Missouri win in Game 2. Missouri won the series 2-1 to move into fourth place in the Big 12.

Zach Miller, a Notre Dame graduate, won two matches, including Quincy's only win versus No. 4 seed Bellarmine, at the Great Lakes Valley Conference tennis tournament. Quincy defeated Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the first round before losing 5-0 to Southern Indiana and 5-1 to Bellarmine. The Hawks finished the season 12-12 and sixth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Miller also was the recipient of the HAWK award. The award is given to one athlete in each sport, and stands for honoring athletes' will and know-how. Miller has received the award three straight years.

Laine Bohnsack, a Central graduate who competes in track and field at Truman State, finished in a tie for second at the Mule Relays April 18 with a jump of 1.60 meters.

Westminster College senior and Perryville graduate Joel Huering recently had a 13-game hitting streak snapped in a 2-1 loss to Maryville University. Huering was 17-for-50 (.340) during the streak. Huering went 0-1 in the loss. Huering's teammate and fellow Perryville graduate Shaun Duvall ended a nine-game hitting streak in the first game of the doubleheader. Duvall used a 19-for-33 (.576) performance over the nine games to shoot his average up to .360. Duvall was 0-for-7 in the doubleheader.