TUESDAY'S SCORES
Bradley 6,
@Western Illinois 5
@Tennessee Tech 5, East Tennessee 3
BRADLEY 6, WESTERN ILLINOIS 5
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois dropped a back-and-forth contest to Bradley, 6-5, on Tuesday afternoon at Mary Ellen McKee Stadium.
The Leathernecks came out strong, scoring two runs in the first inning. Payton Brown sparked the offense with an RBI double to left center, scoring Addie McLaughlin, before Sophia Sanchez drove in Brown to make it 2-0.
Western Illinois added another in the second in unconventional fashion, as Raegan Boone stole home during a rundown to extend the lead to 3-0.
Bradley broke through in the fifth inning, capitalizing on a three-run home run from Morgan Schlosser to even the score at 3-3.
The Leathernecks responded in the sixth when RyLee German launched a solo home run to center field to reclaim the lead.
The Braves answered in the top of the seventh. A two-RBI double from Austin Comstock gave Bradley its first lead of the day at 5-4, and an RBI single from Brynna Seitz pushed the lead to 6-4.
Western Illinois mounted a late push in the bottom half of the inning. Maria Luna delivered an RBI single to bring the Leathernecks within one, but the Leathernecks were unable to bring the tying run home.
Libby Spaulding turned in a strong start in the circle, allowing just one earned run across six innings.
TENNESSEE TECH 5, EAST TENNESSEE 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech Softball begins its final home week of the campaign on Tuesday as the Golden Eagles get another preview of Southern Conference action with East Tennessee State coming to town.
First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 PM. The contest will be preceded by a Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day recognition.
This will be Tech's second contest against East Tennessee State this season as the Golden Eagles defeated the Bucs on March 10 in Johnson City, run-ruling their future conference foes 12-0.
Ashley Capelouto drove in six runs with two of the Golden Eagles' three home runs in the contest with the other coming off of Brooklyn Stewart's bat. Emily York picked up the win in relief as she threw 2 2/3 innings, yielding three walks and one hit, striking out two. Starter Addison Abell threw the first 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out one.
Seven Golden Eagles in all had at least one RBI in the contest.
ETSU has since gone 17-23 on the season and 5-10 in the SoCon, going 6-17 since the two teams squared off over a month ago. The Bucs swept Furman, then took two of three against Wofford this weekend for their conference victories.
The Bucs are batting .264 on the season, collecting 70 extra-base hits – 46 doubles, five triples and 19 home runs – while posting 168 RBI and scoring 185 runs. Abigail Taylor leads the team with a .321 batting average and 20 stolen bases, while Whitney Boone (.310) and Leinani Lutu (.284) each have a team-best 24 RBI and Riley Croley (.267) has 23 RBI. Payton Moore (.299) leads the team with seven home runs.
In the circle, ETSU has a 4.57 ERA, allowing 205 total runs and 171 earned, walking 113 and striking out 125. Eden Muncy has a team-best 2.95 ERA over 57 innings of work with a team-high 38 strikeouts. Catlin Pennington (5-3, 3.97 ERA), Taylor Suchy (4-8, 5.34 ERA) and Marissa Barnes (1-4, 5.59 ERA) have also seen significant innings.
The ETSU win started a 10-1 run for the Golden Eagles that lasted through the remainder of March. April, however, has been tough as Tech has posted a 3-8 record in the present month.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting .275 with 84 extra-base hits – 54 doubles, nine triples and 21 home runs – collecting 169 RBI and scoring 193 runs. Jailynn Paderez leads the team in average with a .386, while Capelouto (.357) leads the team in doubles (11), home runs (seven) and RBI (35). Sofia Carroll (.315) and Olivia Evans (.283) both share the team lead in runs scored with 29, while Evans leads the team in stolen bases with 16.
In the circle, the Golden Eagles have a cumulative 4.68 ERA, allowing 206 runs, 173 earned, while walking 136 and striking out 155. Faith Rush (3-3) moved into the team lead in ERA with a 3.78 mark, while Addison Abell (3-3) has a 3.90. Emily York (8-12, 4.86 ERA) leads the team with 68 strikeouts.