SATURDAY'S SCORES
#1 Southeast Missouri 8, #2 Jacksonville State 2
#1 Southeast Missouri 6, #2 Jacksonville State 5
Top-seeded Southeast Missouri (45-16) continued its remarkable historic season by knocking off #2 Jacksonville State (36-15) twice to win the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship Saturday at Choccolocco Park. The Redhawks won by scores of 8-2 and 6-5.
SEMO, which won its first OVC Tournament title since 1999 and sixth all-time in program history, secured the league's automatic berth in this year's NCAA Division I Tournament.
The Redhawks will gather at Dogwood Social House in Cape Girardeau Sunday night when the entire 64-team bracket is revealed. The 2019 NCAA Division I Softball Selection Show will air live on ESPN2 at 8 p.m., CT.
SEMO ended JSU's streak of three-straight OVC Tournament titles. The Gamecocks won the conference tournament every year it had been in Oxford until the Redhawks wrecked that stretch. JSU was also 14-1 in OVC Tournament games on the field where SEMO beat them two times today.
SEMO dealt OVC Pitcher of the Year Faith Sims just her fifth loss of the season and first in over a month (last loss was vs. Austin Peay on Apr. 5) to force a winner-take-all final.
The Redhawks and JSU shared the regular-season crown, had their OVC Tournament seeds decided by a coin toss and played four games that were decided by a combined five runs in 2019. That said, it was only fitting it would take two games to determine a champion.
JSU struck first on a solo home run by Lex Hull in the bottom of the second inning.
SEMO answered with two runs in the top of the third. Mykaela Arellanes led off with a single and stole second. Sarah Messex flied out to left field deep enough to get Arellanes to third. Ashley Ellis hit into a fielder's choice and Arellanes slid under Hull's tag on a close play at the plate to tie the game. Rachel Anderson gave the Redhawks their first lead at 2-1 when she scored on a bunt single by Addison Barnouski.
The Gamecocks countered with a RBI-single by Anna Hood to bring the game to a 2-2 deadlock in the bottom of the third.
The Redhawks then responded with six unanswered runs, including three in each of the fourth and fifth innings.
With one out and a runner on after Claudia Gallo was hit by a pitch for her team and SEMO single-season high 17th time, Arellanes slugged a home run to right center. The bases were full of Redhawks when Barnouski was hit by a pitch and Messex scored to give the Redhawks a 5-2 cushion.
That marked the end for Sims who exited a game for the first time in the OVC Tournament. Sims walked one, gave up a home run and hit four batters in the fourth inning alone.
SEMO continued to pour it on in the fifth inning scoring three more runs on four hits. Arellanes came up big again, this time with a two-RBI single to score Gallo and Rachael Donald. Arellanes later scored an unearned run with the help of a throwing error to polish off the 8-2 win.
Haley Thogmartin (22-6) picked up the win tossing 6.2 innings with two strikeouts. Thogmartin allowed just two runs on eight hits and walked two as well.
Sims (24-5) was roughed up for five runs on five hits in 3.1 innings. She struck out three, walked three and plunked four Redhawk hitters.
SEMO carried its momentum to the championship game and built a 6-0 lead.
Arellanes drew a leadoff walk and went to second on an infield hit by Messex. R. Anderson flied out to center and both runners advanced. On the next play, Ellis singled up the middle to knock in Arellanes and Messex grabbing the Redhawks a 2-0 lead.
An inning later, Arellanes doubled to right and Kaylee Anderson scored to increase SEMO's margin to 3-0. K. Anderson doubled and was at third on a sacrifice bunt by Gallo prior to scoring.
A 2-RBI single by Ellis and two-out run-scoring single by Donald stretched the Redhawks lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
JSU came alive with a five-run inning in the sixth to pull to within one.
Jada Terry hit a solo home run and the Gamecocks capitalized on two errors to mount a late comeback. Taylor Beshears and Anna Chisolm each had an RBI. Beshears and Chisolm scored on Hull's single to left to make it a 6-5 contest.
Thogmartin, however, ended JSU's rally by recording two strikeouts and forcing Amber Jones to groundout with Hannah Brown, the tying run, on base.
In the seventh, Thogmartin struck out Terry and got Wagnon to fly out to center. Following a Mosley single, Gallo caught Chisolm's fly ball to left field to complete the thrilling victory.
Rachel Rook (10-4) nailed down her 10th win of the season with an outstanding performance. Rook retired the first 10 hitters she faced and allowed one run on three hits in five innings. She struck out three and did not give up a walk.
Thogmartin claimed her third save after striking out three in two scoreless innings.
Arellanes was voted the OVC Tournament's Most Valuable Player. She reached base seven times and went 4-for-6 with three runs scored, a double, home run, three walks, a stolen base and five RBI today.
For the tournament, Arellanes hit .500 (8-for-16), with five runs scored, eight RBI and four walks.
Barnouski, R. Anderson and Thogmartin joined Arellanes on the All-Tournament Team.
Barnouski hit .500 (7-of-14) with two runs scored and six RBI; R. Anderson hit .467 (7-for-15) with five runs, a home run, two RBI, three walks and a stolen base; and Thogmartin went 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA, one save, had a hand in one shutout and struck out 15 in 18 innings during OVC Tournament play.
SEMO pounded out a total of 20 hits for the day and finished with double-digit hits in its last three games of the tournament. In addition, the Redhawks had a baserunner in 12 innings today.
The Redhawks, who are 8-1 in their last nine games, will make their second NCAA Division I Tournament appearance next week.
2019 OVC Softball All-Tournament Team
Sierra Gilmore, Murray State
Chelsea Thomas, Belmont
Bailey Shorter, Austin Peay
Sammi Miller, Eastern Kentucky
Murphy McRoberts, Eastern Kentucky
Anna Chisolm, Jacksonville State
Taylor Beshears, Jacksonville State
Faith Sims, Jacksonville State
Rachel Anderson, Southeast Missouri
Haley Thogmartin, Southeast Missouri
Addison Barnouski, Southeast Missouri
Mykaela Arellanes, Southeast Missouri (MVP)