SATURDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 9, @Morehead State 4
@Jacksonville state 6, Austin Peay 0
@Belmont 12, Southeast Missouri 11
@Eastern Kentucky 5, Eastern Illinois 3
Eastern Illinois 3, @Eastern Kentucky 2
SIUE 5, @Morehead State 2
Austin Peay 4, @Jacksonville State 2 (8)
@Tennessee State 4, UT Martin 2
UT Martin 13, @Tennessee State 0 (5)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Belmont 1
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3; EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
RICHMOND, Ky. - For the second day in a row, the Eastern Kentucky University softball team split a doubleheader, this time against OVC West foe Eastern Illinois. The Colonels took game one, 5-3, while the Panthers rallied in game two for a 3-2 comeback win.
Eastern Kentucky now sits at 18-11 overall and 5-2 in OVC action while the Panthers are 16-9 and 6-1.
Sophomore Katie Tackett hit a pair of home runs in the first game to help EKU snap Eastern Illinois’ eight-game winning streak. Tackett, who is tied for the team lead with six home runs, notched a solo home run in the third and fifth innings.
The Panthers took an early 1-0 lead in the opener, but Eastern Kentucky responded with three runs in the third. Senior Carissa Reisinger launched a two-run home run to right center and Tackett followed with a long ball to right to make the score, 3-1.
Tackett’s second home run put the Colonels ahead comfortably, 5-1. Sophomore pitcher Shaylon Robb (6-5) shook off an EIU two-run homer in the seventh to tally her fifth complete game of the year.
Eastern Illinois pitcher Hanna Mennenga (9-4), who entered the contest leading the OVC with a 1.21 ERA, was roughed up for five earned runs in the loss.
It looked like a second inning, two-run double by senior Raquel Howes was going to be enough to propel the Colonels to another win in game two.
Sophomore pitcher Leanna Pittsenbarger (11-6) took a shutout into the sixth inning. However, the Panthers notched a single run in the sixth to slice the lead in half at 2-1.
In the seventh, Eastern Illinois rallied with a pair of two-out runs to steal the victory. A Melise Brown RBI bunt single tied the game at 2-all. Carly Willert, who finished 3-of-4 in game two, followed with a solid RBI single through the right side to put the Panthers ahead.
EIU pitcher Stephanie Maday (7-3) sealed the win with a perfect seventh inning. Maday struck out seven EKU batters in the complete game.
Eastern Kentucky had numerous chances to expand on its 2-0 lead earlier in the contest, but stranded 11 runners including the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
SIUE 9, MOREHEAD STATE 4; SIUE 5, MOREHEAD STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. -
SIUE softball tied Saturday's second game in the seventh and scored three more in the eighth to sweep past Morehead State in Ohio Valley Conference action.
SIUE, now 19-8 overall and 4-2 in the OVC, won the second game 5-2 in eight innings. The Cougars were 9-4 winners in game one.
Morehead State, 10-10 overall and 0-4 in the OVC, led in game two for most of the contest. The Eagles scored two unearned runs off SIUE winning pitcher Erin Greenwalt, now 6-3, in the third inning.
The Cougars had stranded eight runners over the first six innings but were able score in the seventh.
Rebecca Gray led off the seventh with a single to right field. Chelsea Yankolovich sacrifice bunted her over to second. Taylor Tooley stretched out a single to two bases as Gray moved to third base. Alex McDavid then came up with the clutch hit, a single up the middle that scored Gray and Tooley.
SIUE tallied three runs in the eighth beginning with an RBI single by Tooley. Jordan LaFave and Tooley scored on an infield error by Morehead State shortstop Kayla Ashbrook off the bat of McDavid.
Kelcey McMurray took the game two loss for Morehead State.
In Saturday's opener, SIUE used home runs by Rachel Coonrod, Brittany Toney, and McDavid to overpower the Eagles.
Haley Chambers won her seventh straight game and improved to 10-2 overall. She struck out six and did not walk a batter. She required just 81 pitches in the victory.
The Cougars needed a comeback in this game as well. After SIUE scored on a Coonrod single in the first inning, Morehead State got off to a strong start with three runs in the first. Elizabeth Wagner's two-run homer highlighted the inning.
SIUE tied the game in the fourth on a solo homer by Toney and an RBI single by Yankolovich. Wagner gave Morehead State the lead once more in the bottom of the fourth after hitting a double and scoring on an SIUE infield error.
The lead was SIUE's for good in the fifth when Coonrod hit her first home run of the season. The two-run blast put SIUE up 5-4. The Cougars added four more in the sixth, including the fifth homer of the season from McDavid.
Katie Pfost suffered the loss for Morehead State.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 6, AUSTIN PEAY 0; AUSTIN PEAY 4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2
JACKSONVILLE,Ala. - Junior Tiffany Harbin struck out 21 batters over 10.1 innings in the circle on Saturday and helped the Jacksonville State softball team to a doubleheader split with Austin Peay in Ohio Valley Conference action at University Field.
Harbin, a junior from Hazel Green, Ala., fanned 13 in a two-hit shut out of the Lady Govs (10-11, 1-4 OVC) in a 6-0 win in the first game and then struck out eight in just 3.1 innings of relief work in a 4-2, eight-inning Gamecocks (17-12, 4-1 OVC) loss in the finale. She stretched streak of scoreless innings to 25 before surrendering two runs in the top of the eighth of the second game.
Her 21 strikeouts runs Harbin's season total to 147, which is already 10th on the school's single season strikeouts list, and gives her 590 for her career, just 45 away from Ann Shelton's school record of 635. So far in OVC play this season, she is 3-1 with an 0.60 earned run average and 36 strikeouts in just 23.1 innings.
The Gamecocks gave her plentry of offensive support in the first game of the day, grabbing a pair in the fourth on a two-run home run from sophomore Sara Borders to start the scoring. Borders followed a leadoff single from senior Jessica Guy with a line drive that curled around the foul pole in right and put JSU up for good.
Guy drove in another in the fifth with a two-out single that scored freshman Ella Denes, and freshman Cadi Oliver belted a three-run homer in the sixth that capped the six-run output for JSU. Guy and fellow senior Kelci Johnston each went 2-for-3 in the win, while Oliver's three RBI led the team.
Harbin cruised through the Peay line up in the first game, not allowing a runner past first until an error put runners at second and third with one out in the seventh. She sat down Mel Pavel and Shelby Norton swinging to get out of the jam and secure her fourth shutout of the season.
Peay ace Lauren de Castro took the loss in the circle, giving up six runs on eight hits in six innings of work. She struck out three and didn't issue a walk.
The runs were harder to come by in the nightcap for JSU. Morgan Brewer held JSU to just two runs on seven hits in eight innings, an outing that saw her walk two and strike out two to get the win. JSU had at least one base runner in all but two innings in the game and had runners in scoring position in five of them, but the Gamecocks couldn't push enough in to avoid the split.
Senior Hilary Phillips tossed the first 4.2 innings for JSU, giving up two runs on four hits. When a bloop single from Jessica Ryan gave the Lady Govs a 2-0 lead in the fifth, it snapped a streak of 35.0 consecutive innings in OVC play in which JSU had not allowed an earned run.
The Gamecocks mounted a rally in the sixth, getting a leadoff walk from unior Kalee Tabor and then a bunt single from sophomore Savannah Sloan to get things started. After a Johnston sac bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Oliver flew out to deep center to drive in one and bring up pinch hitter Cara Longworth.
The senior from Massillon, Ohio, connected on Brewer's 2-1 pitch and laced it down the left field line for a double that tied the game at 2-2. JSU threatened to win it in the seventh after a leadoff double from senior Krystal Ruth, but she would be stranded to set up Peay's rally in the eighth.
Harbin struck out Courtney Brower to start the eighth but four-straight singles, the last being a two-run bloop up the middle from Kayla Davidson, gave Austin Peay the deciding 4-2 advantage.
Harbin suffered the loss in relief, despite allowing just two runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work. She struck out eight of the 10 outs she recorded, capping her overpowering day that saw her toss a total of 151 pitches, 108 for strikes.
TENNESSEE STATE 4, UT MARTIN 2; UT MARTIN 13, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tigers used a solid pitching performance and aggressive base running to earn an Ohio Valley Conference split with UT Martin on Saturday afternoon. TSU won the first game 4-2 before dropping game two, 13-0 in five innings.
Tennessee State is now 10-20 on the season and 1-4 in conference play. UTM moved to 18-9, 2-2 in the OVC.
Jennifer Givens sparked TSU in the first inning with a leadoff single and moved to second as the throw got away from the fielders. On the next pitch, Givens stole third base and scampered home as the throw trickled into left field to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
TSU added a run in the fourth as they took advantage of a Skyhawk error. After singles by Lindsey Burgess and Kate Morris, Jayna Hanawahine hit a grounder to third for what looked to be the third out of the inning. An errant throw by the Skyhawks allowed Burgess to cross home plate for a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers added to the lead with two more runs in the fifth inning. TSU used three consecutive hits by Givens, Kiarra Freeman, and Audrey Sensing, with the final hit chasing Givens home. Ashley Haynes drove in the final run on a groundball out to first that allowed Freeman to score and make the score 4-0.
The score was just enough as UTM tried to make a comeback with two runs in the final inning. Shea Morris worked the first six innings allowing just three infield singles. UT Martin challenged in the top of the seventh as they put together three hits, but could only manage two runs. Morris (7-9) gave up the six hits, while striking out seven, including all three outs to close out the game.
In the second game, the Skyhawks took advantage of five Tiger errors and scored 12 unearned runs in route to a 13-0 win. Kenzi Tate (10-1) held TSU to just two hits and struck out five over five innings. Tate helped her cause at the plate with a grand slam home run in the fifth inning.
Givens reached base four out of six plate appearances on the day. She earned two hits, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and stole two bases.
Sloan went 2-for-4 to lead JSU at the plate, both of which were bunt singles.
BELMONT 12, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, BELMONT 1
NASHIVLLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (9-15, 2-2 OVC) softball split a doubleheader with Ohio Valley Conference East Division foe Belmont (10-13, 1-4 OVC) Saturday; losing game one to an impressive Belmont comeback, 11-12, and winning game two, 3-1.
Belmont 12, Southeast Missouri 11
Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Southeast Missouri held an 11-7 lead over the Bruins. Belmont pieced together five runs in the inning, scoring both the tying run and winning run on squeeze plays.
The Bruins touched home in the first off a fielding error by the Redhawks to score two and put Belmont up 2-0 early in the contest.
Lead-off hitter Alexis Anderson had something else to say about it when she launched a ball over the left center field wall which started a three-run inning for Southeast. The scoring continued with a Brittany Smith double to score Simone Patterson and quickly tie up the game. Kaitlin Zink plated the early go-ahead run with an RBI single, 3-2 Southeast.
The Redhawks extended the lead in the fourth which started with an RBI double by Zink followed by an RBI single from Lindsey Patterson, putting Southeast up 5-2. They added another run in the fifth with a monster shot by S. Patterson to dead center field, 6-2 Redhawks.
Belmont was right back in the game on one swing of the bat with a three-run home run by Kat Hollingsworth, narrowing Southeast's lead to 6-5.
The Redhawks jumped way out in front with five runs in the sixth innings which started with a bases-loaded single by Anderson, scoring Zink. With bases still loaded, S. Patterson threaded a single up the middle, scoring Renee Terry. Chelsea Smith reached on a fielder's choice that failed to get Brittany Smith out at second, also scoring two runs on the play. With bases loaded again, Zink hit another RBI single past the third baseman to put the Redhawks way out in front, 11-5.
Belmont narrowed the deficit in their half of the inning with a two-RBI double off the bat of Kim Johnson, 11-7.
The Bruins got hot when it mattered most manufacturing five runs, each one-by-one, in the bottom of the seventh. The comeback started with a bases-loaded single from Courtney Elrod; 11-8, no one out. Heather Turner reached on a fielder's choice that got Mia Vierra out at second that also scored a run; 11-9, one out. With the tying run on first and the winning run at the plate, Jessica Wilson singled to right field, scoring another run; 11-10. The Bruins tied the game with a well-executed squeeze bunt by Kim Johnson. Pitcher L. Patterson got a crucial strikeout to get the second out of the inning. With the winning run on third, Amanda Criscione executed the Bruins second squeeze bunt of the inning to score the winning run, 12-11 Belmont.
Southeast outhit Belmont 15-11 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Zink posted a 4-for-5 performance with three RBI. S. Patterson went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. L. Patterson, Anderson, and Becker all had two hits in the contest.
After coming into the game in relief and allowing the tying and winning runs to cross home, L. Patterson (2-3) suffered the loss. Starter Cowan pitched five complete innings giving up seven runs on five hits.
Katie Clancy (1-0) recorded her first win of the season after pitching 1.2 innings in relief for the Bruins.
Southeast Missouri 3, Belmont 1
Contrary to game one, game two was a low-scoring contest in which Southeast lead the whole way.
Southeast struck first in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader on an RBI single off the bat of Cowan to score Zink, 1-0 Redhawks in the third.
Southeast extended their lead in the sixth inning on a pair of RBI singles from B. Smith and C. Smith, going up 3-0 on the Bruins.
Belmont tried to put together another comeback for the second time on the day in the seventh when they scored on a two-out error, narrowing the Redhawk lead to 3-1. Hannah Clemons got the final out of the inning to secure the victory for the Redhawks.
Southeast outhit the Bruins for the second time in the doubleheader, 7-5. Anderson and B. Smith each went 2-for-3 in the contest.
Five separate batters combined for Belmont's hit count.
After suffering the loss in game one, L. Patterson earned the win in game two after coming in for Cowan in the third inning.
Taylor Moon suffered the loss giving up three runs to the Redhawks through 5.1 innings of work.