Ohio Valley Conference

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PEORIA, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Softball opened postseason play at the Ohio Valley Conference Softball Championship Tournament on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Tennessee Tech University to advance out of the single-elimination round.
 
USI Softball (15-31, 11-16 OVC) entered the tournament on Wednesday as the sixth seed, squaring off against seventh-seeded Tennessee Tech (16-33, 11-16 OVC) in the opener of the single-elimination round.
 
The tournament-opening contest quickly settled into a low-scoring pitcher's duel between Tennessee Tech starting pitcher Emily York and USI sophomore pitcher Kylie Witthaus. Both pitched around a few scattered hits in the early innings but matched zeroes on the scoreboard through the first five innings.
 
After Witthaus stranded two Golden Eagles on base in the top of the sixth inning, USI broke through in the bottom of the sixth. A misplay by Tennessee Tech in the field helped put a runner in scoring position for USI. A couple of at-bats later, and with two outs, junior infielder Sydney Long placed a ball perfectly into right field to allow senior outfielder Caroline Stapleton to score from third and give USI a 1-0 advantage in what ended up being the game-winning RBI for Long.
 
The Golden Eagles loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, but Witthaus finished out the complete game shutout with a strikeout to seal the win for the Screaming Eagles.
 
Witthaus (4-10) struck out five and allowed only five hits in the winning effort. Her counterpart, York (8-15), also went the distance, struck out six, and gave up the lone unearned run on three hits.
 
The top three of USI's batting order, Stapleton, freshman outfielder Katelyn Marx, and Long, each tallied a hit..

#5 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2  (6)
PEORIA, Ill. - #5 Southeast Missouri (21-28) erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second inning to storm past #8 Western Illinois (14-32), 10-2, Wednesday in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament.
 
SEMO eliminated WIU and advances to play #4 Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m., CT tonight. The tournament will now be double elimination for the Redhawks the rest of the way.
 
Tied, 1-1, SEMO sent 11 hitters to the plate during their decisive second-inning surge.
 
Sydney Miles started things off with a single and Addy Martinie followed with a home run to left field. Brittany Affolter singled, stole second and went to third on a base hit by Kamden Hutton. After Madison Winkler singled to load the bases, Aubrie Shore reached on a fielder's choice. 
 
With two outs, Raigan Brannon ripped a single through the left side to score Winkler and Hutton. Shore then scored on a wild pitch and Peoria native Gracie Luna followed with an RBI-double to extend the Redhawks lead to 7-1.
 
SEMO scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly by Brannon in the bottom of the first.
 
The Leathernecks answered with a two-out run-scoring single by Alijah Williams to tie the game in the top of the second.
 
Offensively, SEMO outhit WIU, 13-5, and notched double-digit hits for the fifth time in its last seven contests.
 
Martinie and Brannon both went 3-for-3 to lead the way. Martinie had a home run, one run scored and two RBI, while Brannon added a double, one run scored and game-high four RBI. Additionally, Brannon pushed her hitting streak to 14 games.
 
Winkler and Luna contributed two hits apiece.
 
Elliott Stinson (6-7), this week's OVC Pitcher of the Week, pitched her first complete game of the season and earned her third-straight victory in the circle.
 
Stinson gave up just two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out one in seven innings. She improved to 2-1 with two complete games in three starts at the OVC Tournament in her career.
 
Lillie Wools (5-9) took the loss. Wools was roughed up for seven runs on eight hits in only 1.2 innings.
 
With the victory, SEMO pushed its winning streak to seven games.

#3 SIUE 9, #6 SOUTHERN INDIANA 1  (6)
PEORIA, Ill. - SIUE softball charged through its first game of the 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Championships, dispatching Southern Indiana 9-1 in six innings.

The Cougars, the No. 3 seed, next face second-seeded UT Martin in a 10 a.m. winner's bracket contest Thursday at the Louisville Sports Complex.

SIUE improved to 27-26 with a strong offensive day. The Cougars collected 11 hits and used rallies of four runs in the third inning and three in the bottom of the sixth to close out the game by run rule.

Avery Arwood, the OVC Pitcher of the Year, earned the victory as she allowed four hits in five innings of work. Mia Volpert threw the sixth inning and did not allow a run or a hit in her first OVC Championships outing.

The Cougars used every offensive tool in the win, scoring the first run with patience at the plate in the first inning. Betsy Woodward drew a bases-loaded walk, and Raegan Duncan's pass over the plate gave the Cougars the early 1-0 lead.

Despite leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, SIUE came back in the third inning and scored four times. Aidyn Barrera's slashing single down the right field line drove home Woodward and Abby Harvell.

Kaylin Fahy then singled home Jesslyn Stairs with a single. Fahy attempted to make her way to second, but the Southern Indiana defense fumbled the ball twice, allowing Barrera to swing around to home for the 5-0 lead.

Stairs made it 6-1 in the fourth inning with an RBI single to left. Duncan scored on the play.

The Cougars had a chance to end the game early in the sixth. Duncan led off the inning with a gapping ball to left center. Ashley Duran followed up with an RBI single up the middle. After Harley Limberger pinch hit and drew a walk, Harvell sacrificed the runners over.

Southern Indiana then made its second pitching change of the game with Kylie Witthaus entering after two innings from Anna Kemp and three more from Elly Robbins.

Stairs welcomed Witthaus to the game with an RBI single up the middle. The Cougars closed out the game on a Barrera fly ball that was dropped on the infield, allowing Limberger to score.

#5 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, #4 LINDENWOOD 2
PEORIA, Ill. - Madison Winkler went 2-for-4 with a double, home run, one run scored and three RBI to lead #5 Southeast Missouri (22-28) to a 5-2 victory over #4 Lindenwood (28-23) Wednesday night in the Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament.
 
Winkler set the tone early drilling the first pitch of her first at-bat over the left field wall giving SEMO an early 1-0 edge in the top of the first.
 
Then, for the second-straight game, the Redhawks scored four or more runs in the second inning to pull away.
 
Gracie Luna ripped a double to left center and quickly scored on an ensuing double by Addy Martinie. Martinie went to third on a groundout and scored when Brittany Affolter grounded out to second. Lily Delmain reached on an error and Kamden Hutton singled. With runners at second and third, Winkler knocked in Hutton and Delmain on a two-out double to give SEMO a 5-0 advantage.
 
LU managed to cut SEMO's lead to three when it scored once in the second and fourth innings, but that was as close as the Lions would get.
 
Willow Van Haren (6-7) threw her team-high sixth complete game of the season. Van Haren surrendered only two runs on 11 hits, struck out five and walked two. She pitched out of multiple jams which led to the Lions leaving 11 runners on base.
 
Ava Risum (2-5) suffered the loss. Risum worked 1.2 innings allowing five runs and four hits.
 
SEMO had seven hits with Winkler and Raigan Brannon each accounting for two. Brannon increased her hitting streak to 15 games.