Sports
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Fall turns to spring
December 5, 2019
Racers’ fall softball season comes to a close Simon Elfrink Staff Writer selfrink@murraystate.edu
The Racers hung up the cleats for the year after a fall season full of growth and development. Despite a lack of overwhelming success in terms of wins, Head Coach Kara Amundson expressed her excitement for this year’s newcomers. Of the 21 players, nine are either incoming freshmen or transfer student-athletes. “I think this fall was a little bit different for us in terms of personnel,” Amundson said. “I think in terms of growing and developing as a team, that was where our focus became.” The main goal as the season progressed, Amundson said, was to integrate the newcomers into the Murray State program. With the abundance of new players, Amundson had no shortage of players to cycle through defensive positions to help find their niches. To Amundson, the strongpoint of the team this fall season was the dominance and depth of her pitching staff. “They all are in a really good spot,” Amundson said. “I thought they were all really competitive this fall.” Among these pitchers is
sophomore Hannah James, who Amundson said “will see plenty of innings again this year.” James, last season’s OVC Freshman of theYear, pitched 157.2 innings in her debut season, with a 2.58 ERA with 12 wins and K/BB ratio of 4.14. The large proportion of newcomers, Amundson said, contributed to a lackluster defensive aspect in the fall season. “I think when the young kids first get here they’re trying to prove themselves,” Amundson said. “They start to put pressure on themselves.” Going forward, Amundson is not too concerned about the development of her team’s defense. As far as she is concerned, the newcomers have already made great strides in securing that aspect of the game. “I think as they kind of settled into a routine and settled in to what the game at the college level looks like, we started to clean some of that up,” Amundson said. While the newcomers get their footing, Amundson is confident in her upperclassmen, especially junior Sarah Gilmore, who will begin her third year starting at shortstop for the Racers. Besides being an anchor the Racers can build a defense around, Gilmore had a dominant
Gage Johnson/The News Sophomore pitcher Hannah James starts her windup at Racer Field
sophomore year at the plate, hitting .279 and driving in 28 runs. Despite the numerous newcomers, Amundson had a lot
of faith in her upperclassmen, who she said has stepped up and started to show themselves as leaders. The Racers will pick up
practices once again in January, where conditioning will be the main focus as they prepare for the upcoming 56game season.
Former Racer Cameron Payne to play in CBA Josh Embry Contributing Writer jembry3@murraystate.edu
Former Murray State point guard Cameron Payne has recently signed a contract to play overseas for the Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association. Payne will make the trip overseas to play outside of the NBA for the first time after signing his contract on Wednesday, Nov. 13, to play with the Shanxi Loongs in the CBA. Payne played for Murray State from 2013 to 2015, with career averages of 18.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 5.7 apg. Payne played a pivotal role in the 2014-15 Racers’ 29-6 record and their appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, where the Racers won two games. Though he was drafted 14th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, Payne hasn’t found sustained success in the NBA. He was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder and played 57 games in his inaugural season, with averages of 5.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 1.9 apg.
Payne appeared to be more comfortable with the NBA’s pace and style of play in his second season, when he played approximately four more minutes per game than he did in his rookie season. His point, rebound and assist averages also increased in the 20 games he played for Oklahoma City. Payne’s play was not the only valuable thing he contributed to the team. His pregame dance rituals with his teammates, especially with former MVP Russell Westbrook, sparked national attention in the sports world. Nonetheless, just prior to the February trade deadline, Payne was traded to the Chicago Bulls in a five-man trade that sent notable players such as Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Thunder. Following his arrival at Chicago, injuries limited Payne to only 11 games that spring, resulting in a slight drop in his averages. Further foot and calf injuries plagued Payne in his time at Chicago. He played in only 67 of 246 games in the next two seasons, with com-
bined averages of 7.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 3.6 apg. In January of the 2018-19 season, the Bulls waived Payne. The Cleveland Cavaliers then signed him to two 10-day contracts, where he played in nine games. Cleveland did not renew his second 10-day contract, resulting in him becoming a
free agent. After a strong showing for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League, Payne signed a two-year deal with the defending NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors, in late July. However, with point guards Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet already on the roster,
Payne was released by Toronto during its final cuts in October. Payne has yet to play in a game for Shanxi, although he will have a chance in the coming months. If Payne plays well for Shanxi, he will have a good chance to return to the NBA. Only time will tell if this will be the case.
Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Cameron Payne celebrates after a big play at the CFSB Center.