Ohio Valley Conference

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Recap coming soon.

UT MARTIN 1, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0  (8)
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team completed its third Ohio Valley Conference series sweep of the season by walking off Western Illinois, 1-0, in eight innings Sunday at Bettye Giles Field in Martin.

The two teams combined for just three hits in the first seven innings, but in the bottom of the eighth, the bats came alive for the Skyhawks. The inning began with a double from Dylan Scott, followed by a bunt single from Karena Recrosio that moved Dylan Scott to third base. Karena Recrosio stole second and then, with one out, Kyla Harley reached on a fielder's choice where no one was out to load the bases. In the next at-bat, Avary Makarewicz singled straight up the middle to score Dylan Scott from third and give the Skyhawks their fourth extra-inning win of the season in eight tries.

Karena Recrosio finished the day with a game-high two hits, while Makarewicz, Dylan Scott and Kyrsten Brown each had one. In addition to her walk-off single, Makarewicz also walked twice in the game.

Sami Scholtz threw the first five innings Sunday and gave up no runs on one hit with four strikeouts. Payton Harris picked up her second win of the weekend by holding the Leathernecks hitless and scoreless over the final three innings of the contest while recording one strikeout.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 2, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Softball won a tight 2-1 ballgame on Sunday afternoon to capture an Ohio Valley Conference road series win at Tennessee Tech University.
 
USI Softball (13-22, 10-8 OVC) claimed its second series win on the road in OVC play and exited the weekend in a tie for fifth in the OVC standings. Meanwhile, Tennessee Tech (14-24, 11-7 OVC) suffered its second series loss in a row to position itself third in the conference standings.
 
Sunday's series rubber match began with USI freshman pitcher Mia Kiegel making her first career start and striking out two in the first inning. Even though Tennessee Tech scratched across a run to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Kiegel and the Screaming Eagles limited the scoring to the solo run.
 
USI responded quickly in the top of the third inning. With two outs in the frame, senior outfielder Caroline Stapleton and junior infielder Sydney Long delivered two RBI singles to give the Screaming Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
 
After taking a 2-1 lead, USI's pitching staff kept the Golden Eagles scoreless for the rest of the game, working around baserunners in three of the final four innings.
 
Kiegel (1-0) earned her first career win after striking out four with one run allowed in four innings of work. Freshman pitcher Anna Kemp went 2.2 innings in relief before handing the ball over to sophomore pitcher Kylie Witthaus for the final out. Witthaus picked up her fourth save of the season.
 
Offensively, USI totaled six hits, with the top four of the batting order tallying a hit.
 
Tennessee Tech starting pitcher Faith Rush (3-2) was dealt the loss, surrendering two runs and one earned in three innings pitched. Rush was followed by Ella Wampler, who tossed the last four innings scoreless for the Golden Eagles.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Abbi Hatton and Sophia Olman hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning as Eastern Illinois secured Sunday's series finale, 6-4, at Southeast Missouri.
 
Trailing 4-3 entering the inning, Hatton tied the game with her second home run of the weekend while Olman gave the Panthers the lead with her second homer of the series.  Both players had two hits as EIU pounded out 12 hits in the game.
 
Bryanna French (6-2) threw 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win as EIU improved to 22-20 overall, 14-3 in the OVC.   Elliott Stinson (3-6) took the loss in relief for SEMO as the Redhawks are now 14-23 overall, 10-7 in the OVC.
 
SEMO jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Aubrie Shore's RBI single up the middle.  Shore had just one of two RBI in the game for the Redhawks.
 
EIU took advantage of some control issues in the circle in the third as they scored all three runs by bases loaded walks with Viola Smith hit by a pitch with bases loaded.  Maddux Marshall and Lizzie Stiverson added the bases loaded walks.
 
Brittany Affolter hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third with the Redhawks scoring two unearned runs in the fourth to take the lead.  Affolter led SEMO with three hits.
 
EIU took the lead in the sixth and added an insurance run in the seventh as Stiverson scored on a wild pitch.  Stiverson, Mo Hance and Lexie Griffin joined the Panthers group with two hits.

LINDENWOOD 3, SIUE 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Softball team (20-20, 9-9 OVC) added a crucial victory late in the conference season with a 3-0 shutout win at home over SIUE on Sunday afternoon. Samantha Roulanaitis and Ryleigh Owens shut down the Cougar offense, as the duo allowed just four hits combined and added three strikeouts and two walks to limit SIUE's offense. The offense for the Lions produced 11 total hits with six of those coming off the bats of Anna Sanders and Teryn Brown who each went 3-3 on the afternoon. 

After Roulanaitis recorded a one-two-three top of the first inning, the Lions wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first thanks to a one-out double to left center from Sanders, and Jolie McMinn picking up an RBI single up the middle that scored Sanders to give Lindenwood a 1-0 lead. That lead would hold until the sixth inning as Roulanaitis allowed three hits over the second through fifth innings and allowed just five base runners with only one Cougar runner advancing to third in the fifth inning. After SIUE got back-to-back hits and threatened to score the tying run, Owens entered the game with runners on first and third with two outs in the top of the fifth and needed just three pitches to end the SIUE threat by striking out the Cougars lead off hitter Juztyne Torres. The Lions had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth following the Owens strikeout to end the top half of the fifth, but SIUE's Avery Arwood was able to escape the jam as Lindenwood maintained their 1-0 lead with two innings to go. 

In the top of the sixth, Owens struck out two more batters after allowing a one-out walk, and the Lions were able to create some separation from SIUE by putting up two runs in the bottom of the sixth behind an RBI bases loaded walk from Sanders and a Dallis Darnell RBI single to centerfield. Owens ended the game in the top of the seventh by forcing a game ending 1-6-3 double play to pick up her second save of the season, and Roulanaitis added her fourth win of the season by pitching the first 4.2 innings of the game and giving up no runs on three hits to help the Lions improve to 9-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.