PHOTO GALLERY
WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
#3 Jacksonville State 11, #6 Eastern Illinois 10
#2 Austin Peay 2, #7 UT Martin 0
#5 SIUE 5, #4 Southeast Missouri 4
#1 Eastern Kentucky 2, #3 Morehead State 1
JACKSONVILLE STATE 11, EASTERN ILLINOIS 10
OXFORD, Ala. - Alexus Jimmerson delivered a game-ending double off the center field wall that gave the Jacksonville State softball team a dramatic 11-10 win in a back-and-forth Ohio Valley Conference Tournament opener with Eastern Illinois.
The third-seeded Gamecocks (30-23) never led until Jimmerson's walk-off hit bounced back into play off of the yellow tape atop the Choccolocco Park wall and overcame a 5-run deficit at one point to send the sixth-seeded Panthers (34-19) to the loser's bracket of the tournament. JSU advances to play in the winner's bracket at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday against the winner of the Austin Peay/UT Martin game later Wednesday.
EIU scored three in the first and stretched its lead to as many as five at 9-4 in the top of the fifth, but the Gamecocks kept plucking away. They tied the game with a three-run sixth before needed more dramatics after falling behind again in the seventh.
Every starter in the JSU lineup reached at least once in the game, with seven of them recording at least one of the team's 11 hits. Seven also scored at least one time in the win, JSU's sixth-straight in OVC Tournament openers.
Jimmerson and Emily Woodruff each had three hits in the game, while Taylor Beshears and Leila Chambers had two apiece.
Woodruff, a senior that became the fifth Gamecock to earn an All-OVC mention in four years on Tuesday, became the ninth player to record 200 career hits after her big day. She ran her career hits total to 202, while also scoring twice in the game.
Jimmerson drove in a team-high three runs, while Anna Chisolm, Taylor Beshears and Hayley Sims each drove in two. Beshears and Sims also homered in the win.
The game got off to a rocky start for the Gamecocks, who surrendered three runs in the top of the first. The Panthers managed just two hits but benefitted from three walks to claim an early lead.
The Gamecocks grabbed one in the home half of the inning after leadoff walks to Caitlyn Sapp and Anna Chisolm set up Alexus Jimmerson's RBI single through the right side. JSU stranded two runners in the inning and EIU held a 3-1 lead after a 31-minute first inning.
The Panthers scored another in the third inning, when Andrea Roberts legged out a two-out infield single that allowed a run to score from third and give them a 4-1 lead.
JSU got it back quickly in the home half of the third, this time on the long ball. Taylor Beshears launched Jessica Wireman's 2-0 pitch into the parking lot beyond the left center field wall for her team-leading eighth homer of the year.
EIU got another run without the benefit of a hit in the fourth, an inning that saw a hit batter to start and three walks. The final one was to Breya Cooper and came with the bases loaded to give the Panthers a 5-2 advantage.
JSU answered again, scoring two in the bottom of the fourth, the first on an Emily Woodruff single up the middle and the second on a sac fly to left center from Chisolm. Chambers, who started the inning with a single, tagged from third on Chisolm's fly and cut the Panthers lead to 5-4.
EIU opened it up in the fifth, scoring four times to take a 9-4 lead in a frame that was highlighted by Haley Mitchell's two-run homer.
JSU used some power to get two back in the bottom of the frame. Jimmerson walked to lead it off and then Hayley Sims hit a monster home run off of the top of the column holding the scoreboard up in right center. The blast brought the Gamecocks back to within three at 9-6.
The Gamecocks put a zero on the board in the top of the sixth and then went to work in the bottom half. They scored three runs to tie the game at 9-9, getting the first on a Chisolm RBI double to left center and the next two on Taylor Beshears' single to right.
It didn't stay tied for long, with Eastern Illinois scoring in the top of eth seventh to reclaim the lead. It was Mitchell again, this time with a single to left that scored Kayla Bear after she led off the inning with a walk.
JSU had a little more magic in its hat for the bottom of the seventh. Woodruff led off with her third single of the day and then Sapp walked to put the winning run on base. After a fly out by Chisolm and a Beshears strike out, the stage was set for Jimmerson's dramatics.
Her game-winning double handed Wireman (15-11) the loss after the Panther ace allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 6 and 2/3 innings in the circle. She threw 154 pitches in the game, walking five and striking out six.
Faith Sims (19-9) grabbed the win after tossing five innings. She started the game and threw the first four innings before making way for Nicole Rodriguez. Sims returned to the circle after a leadoff walk in the seventh and finished the inning. Sims allowed seven runs on five hits and eight walks in five innings. She struck out four.
Rodriguez gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in her two innings of relief work
AUSTIN PEAY 2, UT MARTIN 0
OXFORD, Ala. - Austin Peay State University's softball team made a triumphant return to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament, Wednesday at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., downing Tennessee Martin, 2-0.
The Governors (37-15), the tournament's second-seed, scored both of its runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Junior center fielder Kacy Acree opening the inning with a single down the left field line, followed by a single up the middle by freshman center fielder Bailey Shorter – with both moving up a base on an infield groundout by junior third baseman Danielle Liermann.
Shorter and Liermann would led the Govs with two hits each.
That would bring up junior pitcher Morgan Rackel, who hit a hard ground ball to the second base – that scored Acree – but the second baseman's throw was wide of the bag allowing Shorter to also score.
Those two runs would be all that Rackel (20-6) would need, as the Calgary, Alberta, Canada native shutout the Skyhawks (25-31) on three hits, while walking two and striking out three.
The Govs continue their return to the OVC Championship, 12:30 p.m., Thursday as they face defending tournament champion Jacksonville State.
SIUE 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
OXFORD, Ala. - SIUE softball erased a four-run, first-inning deficit to capture a 5-4 victory over Southeast Missouri in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at Choccolocco Park.
Pinch-hitter Jill Niehaus walked on four pitches with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning to provide the game-winning RBI. Pinch-runner Talisa Morton stepped across home plate for the eventual game-winner.
Southeast Missouri, 33-19, rallied for four runs on three hits in the first inning. Pitcher Corrina Rivas replaced starter Emily Ingles in the inning and proceeded to shut down the Redhawks.
Rivas struck out eight and yielded just two hits for her seventh victory of the season.
Rivas struck out SEMO's Ashley Ellis looking to end the game.
Southeast Missouri used four pitchers against the Cougars. Madeline Krumrey started for SEMO and lasted 3 1/3 innings. Krumrey gave up a two-run home run in the second inning to SIUE freshman shortstop Alana Cobb-Adams.
SIUE tied the game 4-4 in the top of the fifth inning. Alyssa Heren reached on an infield error. Bailley Concatto singled to left field.
After a pitching change, Zoe Schafer doubled down the left field line to drive home Heren. After Reagan Curtis was hit by a pitch, Connor Cutright picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Concatto.
SEMO's third pitcher Rachel Rook was credited with the loss. She dropped to 5-5.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 2, MOREHEAD STATE 1
OXFORD, Ala. - Paige Murphy’s solo home run in the bottom frame of the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie to lift the #1 Eastern Kentucky University softball team over No. 8 Morehead State, 2-1, in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Wednesday night at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
The bomb made Murphy just the sixth player in the last decade in NCAA Division I softball to have 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. The senior is the only player in the nation to reach the mark this season.
Destinee Lizzmore notched the first hit of the game when she ripped a double to left center. Murphy was hit by a pitch and Hannah Clark was walked to load the bases for Johnkyria Alston. The senior sent a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Lizzmore, notching an RBI and putting EKU up 1-0.
Cassie Griffin was hit by a pitch to start the third and made her way around the bases, scoring on a single from Paige Scruggs as the Eagles tied it up at 1-1.
Emily Corbitt was issued a walk in the third inning, putting her in the Colonel record books as the single-season walks owner with 33.
Mollie Paulick collected the win after tossing 6.2 innings and giving up just one run. The sophomore moves to 19-5 on the year and 12-0 against OVC teams.
After the win EKU improves to 38-16 while Morehead State drops to 27-22.