SATURDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 4-1, Eastern Kentucky 2-0
SIU Edwardsville 11, Indiana 0
Central Michigan 9, SIU Edwardsville 3
Eastern Illinois 3-6, @Jacksonville State 1-4
Murray State 8-5, @Tennessee State 1-7
Tennessee Tech 12-5, @Austin Peay 8-2
Morehead State 9-7, @Southeast Missouri 2-5
UT MARTIN 4-1, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2-0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team improved to 20-3 on the year and picked up win No. 150 at Bettye Giles Field during a sweep of Eastern Kentucky 4-2 and 1-0 on the opening day of Ohio Valley Conference play. The Skyhawks capitalized early on Colonel miscues in the first game then needed only one run in the second as Kate Vanderham tossed the shutout.
The wins mark the quickest UT Martin has reached the 20 win plateau in program history, while also making the Skyhawks only the 11th team among those receiving votes in the national Top 25 to reach 20 wins. UT Martin opens conference play 2-0, while Eastern Kentucky falls to 5-19 overall and 0-2 in the league.
In the first game UT Martin gave a run in the top of the first and fell behind 1-0 to the Colonels. UT Martin responded quickly with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to quickly gain a 4-1 edge they would never relinquish. The Skyhawks capitalized on three Eastern Kentucky errors and a Jenny Bain walk to push the first two runs across before recording the first hit of the game.
Bain and Chelsea Cary both scored as a result of the Colonel errors, before Jordan Garrett reached on a fielder's choice and Laura Roberts was able to slide under the tag at home to score the third run. The first Skyhawk hit of the game came when Vanderham dropped a blooper into right field then Laurie Lindow followed with a sacrifice fly to right, allowing Van Arsdale to score the fourth run of the inning.
After five scoreless innings from both teams Eastern Kentucky rallied in the top of the seventh to score one run and cut the Skyhawk lead in half. It wasn't enough though as the UT Martin defense finished off the game to secure the 4-2 win. Paij Lintz picked up the 7.0 inning complete game win, improving to 8-1 on the year. She surrendered only four hits in the win, while striking out two.
At the plate Vanderham led the way by going 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored, while Bain and Garrett each picked up hits. The Skyhawks needed only four hits as a team to score their four runs.
In game two both teams were held scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when UT Martin scored the lone run of the game. Laura Roberts earned a one-out walk then moved to second on a Megan Van Arsdale sacrifice bunt. Garrett then struck out on the next play but Eastern Kentucky thought it was the third out and began running off the field, however it was only the second out and Roberts was able to move over to third during the mental lapse.
Vanderham, who started the second game in the circle, then helped her own cause when she lined a double off the wall in left to plate Roberts and put the Skyhawks on top. Vanderham then completed the game in the circle to hold on for the shutout win and improve to 6-1 on the year. She allowed only three hits in the game, while striking out seven.
At the plate in addition to Vanderham's double, Roberts, Garrett and Mathis each picked up singles to give UT Martin four on the day.
SIU EDWARDSVILLE 11, INDIANA 0; CENTRAL MICHIGAN 9, SIU EDWARDSVILLE 3
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Erika Taylor became the eighth player in school history to record multiple no-hitters Saturday as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville routed Indiana 11-0 in five innings.
The Cougars, 15-14, split their two games at the IU Classic. After defeating the Hoosiers, SIUE dropped a 9-3 decision to Central Michigan.
Taylor's no-hitter was the 26th in the SIUE's history. The junior right-hander also recorded a no-hitter earlier this season against Murray State.
Taylor shut down Indiana's offense, which came into Saturday's action with a .262 batting average. That's the fifth-best in the Big Ten. Taylor struck out three and walked three batters. No Indiana player advanced past second base.
SIUE, 15-14, also didn't hold back the bats against their Big Ten foes, which fell to 6-16 overall. Shortstop Kasey Schlafke provided the biggest bat for the Cougars with two home runs for four runs batted in.
The Cougars started the scoring in the third inning. Taylor Tooley opened the inning by drawing the first of her three walks for the game. Kay Hagelberg and Chaleen Rumpf each reached on a fielder's choice when Indiana's fielding didn't get an out on either play.
Megan Murphy grabbed the game's first RBI with a single, plating Tooley. After a strikeout, Laurie Siebert drove in Hagelberg and Rumpf with a single. Murphy advanced to third on a flyout by Whitney Davis. After Siebert stole second, Lauren Zembruski drove in two runs with a single of her own.
Zembruski would come across home plate on Schlafke's first home run of the game.
SIUE scored twice more in the fourth inning on an RBI hit by Lindsey Barron, who later scored on an Indiana infield error.
Schlafke, who would tie Zembruski for the team lead in RBIs with 15, blasted another home run in the fifth. Zembruski was on base again for the fifth-inning homer.
The Cougars didn't pick up the offense in the same way against Central Michigan. The Chippewas kept SIUE scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when the Cougars rallied for three runs.
Samantha Stanicek opened the seventh with a pinch-hit walk. Tooley took an 0-1 pitch off CMU starter Kari Seddon over the left field fence. Paige Sheeder followed by drawing another pinch-hit walk. Rumpf would drive Sheeder home with a double to right-center field, only to be called out at third trying to stretch it out to a triple.
Ali Downing took the loss for SIUE with two innings pitched. She gave up four runs on five hits. Lindsey Coleman tossed the final five innings for the Cougars, allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out three batters.
CMU, 8-7, was led by leadoff hitter Christina Novak, who was 3 for 4 with four RBIs. The Chippewas knocked out 14 hits against the Cougars.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3-6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1-4
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Eastern Illinois (8-11, 2-0 OVC) scored late in both games to sweep an Ohio Valley Conference softball twinbill from Jacksonville State (9-11, 0-2 OVC) by the scores of 3-1 and 6-4 on Saturday at University Field.
The Panthers scored a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings en route to the game one win. Denee' Menzione, who went 2-for-4 on the day, had an RBI single in the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh. EIU's run in the sixth came on a bunt single by Megan Nelson.
Jacksonville State had its chances loading the bases in the sixth and putting the tying runs on base in the seventh but was unable to take advantage.
Hillary Downs and Chrissy O'Neal each had two of the Gamecocks seven hits in game one. Downs provided the only run for JSU with a solo home run to center in the bottom of the seventh.
Amber May went the distance in the circle for the Panthers to improve to 4-7 on the season. May allowed one earned run and seven hits while striking out seven batters.
Ashley Eliasson had five strikeouts while suffering the loss to fall to 5-7. Eliasson gave up three runs, one earned, on five hits on the day.
In the night cap, the Panthers struck for six runs in the sixth inning to break the scoreless tie. Kiley Holtz delivered a two-RBI single and Hailee Hanna had an RBI single to highlight the inning.
JSU battled back with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kaycee Crow drove in the first run with a single and a Cara Longworth sac fly plated the second run. Two more runs came home on Longworth's sac-fly when the EIU first baseman threw the ball into centerfield trying to throw out Crow at second, allowing the bases to clear.
Meredith Sellers was hit by a pitch to lead off the seventh only to see the next three hitters fly out to end the game.
Freshman Hillary Phillips gave up three runs on three hits with four strikeouts to take the loss and drop to 4-4.
Natalie Wunderlich earned the win for EIU to improve to 3-3. Wunderlich had two strikeouts and gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits.
MURRAY STATE 8-5, TENNESSEE STATE 1-7
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State University softball team suffered an 8-1 loss to Murray State before defeating the Racers, 7-5, in the second game Saturday afternoon at Tiger Field.
In the opening frame, after retiring the first batter, Megan Hedrick gave up two hits that led to Murray State (5-11, 1-1 OVC) capturing a 1-0 lead. Hedrick then struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning without any more runs scoring.
The next inning, Murray increased its lead to 2-0 when Kaitlyn England solo homered to left field.
Tennessee State (6-11, 1-1 OVC) finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Bridget Metzger reached on a throwing error by the pitcher and advanced to third on a single by Kelly Troglin. Metzger crossed the plate when Jalisa Bradley hit a sacrifice fly to center field.
Murray State added two more runs in the top of the fourth before opening up the lead to 8-1 in the top of the sixth. The Racers scored four runs, off of one hit and one error in the sixth.
TSU was not able to overcome the deficit.
Megan Hedrick (1-4) was charged with the loss for the Tigers while Kristen Broadway (4-2) earned the win for the Racers. Hedrick
Tennessee State only had two hits in the contest while recording two errors while Murray State tallied 10 runs and committed one error.
As a team, TSU went 2-of-23 at the plate and turned in a dismal .087 hitting percentage in the game.
In the second game, TSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. With Brittany Webb and Bridget Metzger on first and second, Caitlin Eaton drove them both home with a double to right center.
The Tigers built their lead up to 5-0 in the bottom of the third but Murray State answered in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to cut the deficit down to 5-3.
The Racers rallied in the top of the sixth for two more runs to knot the score 5-5.
The Tigers regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on the corners, Kelly Troglin stepped up to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Brooke Blackford. The next batter, Jalisa Bradley, doubled off the right field fence to drive in Metzger all the way from first base.
Murray State threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs but Megan Hedrick got out of the inning unscathed and picked up the save for TSU.
Hannah Schnebly (4-3) earned the win for the Tigers while the Racers' Shelby Kosmecki (0-5) was charged with the loss.
TSU finished the game with seven hits while turning in a much improved .318 batting average. Brittany Webb (2-of-2) led TSU with two hits, Caitlin Eaton had a team best two RBI and Bridget Metzger crossed the plate three times.
TENNESSEE TECH 12-5, AUSTIN PEAY 8-2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Tech's bats came to life against Austin Peay on Saturday as the Golden Eagle softball team earned two victories in a doubleheader in Clarksville. TTU won a slugfest to start the day, 12-8, before taking a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.
Freshman Melody Christian finished the day 6-for-9 with four runs scored, while sophomore Whitney Cummings was 3-for-8 with a home run, four runs scored and five RBIs for the Golden Eagles who won their first two games of the OVC season.
Tech improves to 10-15 overall and 2-0 in the conference, while Austin Peay drops to 5-17 overall and 0-2 in the OVC.
The Golden Eagles and Lady Govs played a wild game to start the day that featured 20 runs, 16 hits and eight errors combined between the two teams. Tech's final line included a season-high 12 runs on nine hits, while the team committed three errors on defense.
The 1st inning was an exciting one for TTU as the Golden Eagles put a nine spot on the scoreboard before the Lady Govs came to bat. Christian started the rally with a single to lead off the game before Lacie Coquerille laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her to second. Coquerille also reached base on the play after beating out the play at first base to put two on with no outs for TTU.
Cummings came to bat next and reached on an error by the APSU shortstop before Callie Schmidt delivered a bases-loaded single to plate Christian and give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Tech took advantage of a second Austin Peay error as the second baseman mishandled a ball hit by Holly Thomas, allowing two runs to score.
Kaleigh Gates came to bat and did not need to lift the bat off her shoulder before TTU tacked on another run. The Golden Eagles had runners on first and second when a passed ball moved Jessica Steele - who had entered as a pinch runner for Schmidt - to third and Thomas to second. Shortly after, a wild pitch brought Steele home and moved Thomas up to third.
A third error by Austin Peay plated Thomas and allowed Gates to go all the way to third before she scored on a passed ball, putting Tech in front, 6-0.
Still with no outs in the top of the 1st inning, Stacey Butts walked and Brooke Basten was hit by a hit by a pitch to put two Golden Eagles back on base before Lindsey Umberger, the ninth Tech batter of the inning, singled to score Butts from second base.
The Lady Govs finally got their first out of the game on a strikeout by Christian, but Coquerille came to the plate next and singled to score Basten from second, stretching the Golden Eagle lead to 8-0. With Cummings at-bat for the second time inning, Tech would add another run on a wild pitch that allowed Umberger to score from third base.
Improbably, the Golden Eagles scored nine runs in the 1st inning on just four hits. Tech benefited from three APSU errors, two wild pitches and two passed balls in the frame.
The Lady Govs answered with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning to cut their deficit to six, 9-3, but Tech added two runs in the top of the 5th to build its lead back to eight, 11-3.
Christian again started the inning off with a single before Coquerille sacrificed her to second. Cummings delivered a one-out double to bring Christian home from second, and two batters later, Thomas roped a single that brought Cummings home.
The Lady Govs would score two in the bottom of the inning and three in the bottom of the 6th to avoid the eight-run rule and come within three, 11-8.
In the top of the 7th, Tech would score an insurance run as Cummings plated Christian, who started the inning with a single, giving Tech a 12-8 lead. That would prove to be the final score as Claudia Harke shut down the Lady Govs in their last at-bats to secure the victory.
Harke entered in the 6th inning after Thomas pitched 5.0 innings and struck out four while allowing three earned runs. Thomas improves her record to 6-7 this season in the circle.
A three-run homer by Cummings turned a 2-1 Golden Eagle deficit into a 4-2 Tech lead in the 4th inning, and pitcher Maddie Schmissrauter kept the Lady Govs off of the scoreboard from there as the Golden Eagles picked up a three-run victory.
Schmidt hit a single down the left field line that scored Cummings from second base to start the scoring in the top of the 1st inning, but the Lady Govs responded in their half of the 2nd inning with two runs to grab a 2-1 lead.
That lead held until Cummings' home run in the 4th inning. Jordan Leff took a one-out walk, and Christian followed with a single to right field. Two batters later, Cummings drove one deep over the left-center field fence for her fifth dinger of the season, giving Tech a two-run lead.
The Golden Eagles manufactured a run in the 5th inning to put them ahead by three, 5-2, and Schmissrauter along with the TTU defense took care of the rest, ending the game two innings later on a double play.
Four Golden Eagles finished the game with two hits. Cummings went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, Christian finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, Schmidt was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Gates went 2-for-3 with a double.
Schmissrauter pitched the complete game for TTU, finishing with five strikeouts, while allowing just two runs by the Lady Govs. The junior evens her record at 4-4 this season and now has a 1-0 mark in conference play.
MOREHEAD STATE 9-7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2-5
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Morehead State sophomore Kayla Brill went 5-for-8 and hit a game-tying two run homer in the second game as the Eagle softball team started Ohio Valley Conference 2-0 with a 9-2 and a 7-5 win at Southeast Missouri Saturday.
The Eagles, who rallied for six runs in the final two innings to win game two, improved to 9-11 with thir sixth win in eight games. SEMO fell to 9-14 and 0-2 in the league.
Senior pitcher Alex Gjevre struck out six and only scattered two hits over five innings in the opener. After a leadoff single, she retired 10 consecutive SEMO batters. She also pitched the final four innings in game two to pick up wins in both ends of the doubleheader and improve to 4-7.
In the opening game, freshman first baseman Amber Riddle got the Eagles on the scoreboard on the top of the first. After Brill singled up the middle, Riddle lifted a stand-up double down the left field to score Brill from first.
The Eagles increased their lead to 3-0 in the third inning. An RBI single from Rebecca Butler scored Anna Sommer, who had led off the inning with an infield single on a bunt. Bianca Cardenas collected an RBI as SEMO shortstop Renee Kertz elected to throw home on her grounder. Brill beat the throw home though.
MSU made it a 6-0 ball game in the fourth. Kayla Ashbrook reached on a fielding at short to start things off. After a Courtney Seiler single and another bunt from Sommer, Elizabeth Wagner smashed a two-run double to left center to score Ashbrook and Seiler. Butler lined a single to right field to send Sommer home with the sixth MSU run of the opening game.
Sommer also scored MSU's seventh run in the top of the fifth as she blasted a two-out solo homer to left field. The Eagles then added another pair of scores in the top of the seventh. Ashbrook and Sommer drew walks and Brittany Scheer laced a single to center to score Ashbrook. On the play, SEMO center fielder Melissa Walker allowed the ball to go all the way to the wall to allow Sommer to score as well. With the Eagles on top 9-0 already and the Redhawks with just one more at-bat, Scheer attempted to stretch the hit into a scoring situation herself, but she was thrown out on the relay from the outfield.
Sophomore Ashley Boyd pitched the final two frames, allowing both runs - but both were unearned as well.
Stefanie Barnes pitched the complete game for the Redhawks and fell to 5-7. For the Eagles, Butler and Sommer had two hits each.
SEMO got on the board first in the second game, scoring once in the first inning and twice in the second against MSU starter Sarah Funston. RBI doubles from Haleigh Willis and a run-scoring single off the bat of Nicole Troncoso gave the Redhawks the early advantage.
The Eagles were able to trim the lead to 3-1 in the fourth. Cardenas walked and Ashbrook and pinch hitter Bethany Ellis reached via singles. Scheer coaxed a bases loaded RBI walk after a 10-pitch at-bat to score pinch runner Taylor Sherritt.
The Redhawks upped the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth as Carmen Fowler lifted a one-out two-run homer over the left field fence.
The Eagles answered in the clutch though in the top of the sixth. Pinch hitter Ashley Archer singled and Sommer walked. Wagner then slapped an opposite field double to the wall in left field to plate both runners. Brill came up next and ripped a two-out, two-run homer down the right field line to tie the game at 5-5.
MSU grabbed the lead in the top of the seventh. C ardenas singled with one out and then scored as Ashbrook delivered a double to center field. The ball was misplayed in the field, allowing the MSU catcher to get to the plate with the go-ahead run. Archer came up with another single, this time to left field, to score Ashbrook with the Eagles' seventh run.