SUNDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 6, @Austin Peay 0
@Jacksonville State 5, Tennessee State 0
Eastern Kentucky 12, @Belmont 7
EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, AUSTIN PEAY 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois softball downed Austin Peay, 6-0, on Sunday (March 17) to earn the Ohio Valley Conference weekend sweep of the Lady Govs.
Panthers improve to 13-8 overall and a perfect 3-0 OVC mark as EIU enjoys a season-best six-game win streak. Austin Peay, meanwhile, drops to 9-10 overall and 0-3 in league action.
Juniors Brooke Owens and Carly Willert both finished with 2-for-3 days at the plate, as both delivered solo home runs in the rout.
Sophomore Hanna Cole added an RBI double, while junior Ashleigh Westover and senior Abby Wood both delivered respective RBI shots to account for the Panther scoring.
Junior Hanna Mennenga continued her fine season as she upped her season win mark to 8-3 in the circle, as she fanned nine Lady Govs via strikes, while allowing just a pair of walks and APSU hits.
The Panther defense backed up Mennenga nicely as they Willert and junior Morgan Biel led all players with four put-outs, while Eastern committed zero errors.
The Panthers have now won eight consecutive games over APSU to improve Eastern's lead in the all-time series history to 42-12.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 5, TENNESSEE STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 5-0 win over Tennessee State that capped a Gamecock sweep in the first conference series of the season for both teams.
Senior Kelci Johnston went 2-for-3 with four RBI at the plate and junior Tiffany Harbin tossed a complete-game shutout to lead the Gamecocks (16-10, 3-0 Ohio Valley Conference) to a series sweep in their conference opener for the third-straight year. They have now won 12 straight against the Tigers (9-19, 0-3 OVC) and are now 25-3 in the all-time series with TSU.
Just one day after Harbin (9-4) no-hit the Tigers in the series opener, the Hazel Green, Ala., native went to work again. She held the Tigers hitless for the first two innings on Sunday before a two-out infield single in the third inning broke up any chance at another no-hitter. She allowed six hits in her seven scoreless innings but struck out 10 batters in her eighth complete game and third shutout of the season.
Johnston got things going for JSU in the first inning with a two-out, bases-clearing bloop double to right that plated three runs and gave the Gamecocks an early 3-0 lead.
That would be enough for Harbin, who struck out at least one batter in every inning, but the Gamecocks added an insurance run in the third and another in the sixth to make it a 5-0 decision.
Johnston was responsible for the fourth run, as well, thanks to an RBI single in that third inning. Senior Jessica Guy drove in the final run in the sixth on a bases-loaded ground ball that drove in fellow senior Cara Longworth after her pinch-hit single to lead off the inning.
Guy and senior Krystal Ruth each went 2-for-4 in the win, while sophomore Sara Borders belted her OVC-leading 11th double of the season and scored two runs in a 1-for-3 afternoon.
Olivia Gamache (3-10) took her second loss of the weekend for the Tigers, surrendering five runs, only two earned, on 11 hits in six innings in the circle.
The Tigers got a 2-for-3 game from Kiarra Freeman, who came close to scoring a run for her team. After an Ashley Haynes double in the sixth, Freeman easily got to the plate before the relay made it in from right, but catcher Savannah Sloan denied Freeman access to the plate and applied the tag to preserve the shutout for the Gamecocks
EASTERN KENTUCKY 12, BELMONT 7
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team completed a three-game sweep over Belmont Sunday afternoon thanks to a 12-7 shootout win. Freshmen Sarah Fobbs and Kayla Joyce combined for six RBIs in the triumph.
This is the first time since 2008 that Eastern (14-9, 3-0 OVC) has opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a series sweep. EKU’s offense produced season highs in both runs (12) and hits (14).
The Colonels trailed Belmont (7-12, 0-3) heading into the top of the fifth inning, 2-1. In Eastern’s final three at-bats, the Colonels scored 11 times to race past the Bruins.
Joyce and junior Christina Ciolek each tallied two-run doubles in the fifth as part of a five-run inning. Fobbs capped the offensive outburst in the seventh with her third home run of the season, a two-run blast.
Fobbs went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs scored. Joyce was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Ciolek, sophomore Katie Tackett and senior Melissa Costa each chipped in with a pair of hits as well.
Sophomore pitcher Leanna Pittsenbarger (9-5) earned the win by working five-plus innings and allowing one earned run.
For the day, Jessica Wilson batted .750 with a trio of hits. Kat Hollingsworth and Heather Turner led BU in RBI with a total of two apiece.
Inside the circle, four Bruins saw time, led by freshman Taylor Moon (Vestavia, Ala.) and junior Brittanie Albright (Franklin, Tenn.), who combined for three strikeouts.