SATURDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 3, @Belmont 2
@UT Martin 5, Austin Peay 2
SIUE 9, Southeast Missouri 1
@Belmont 7, Jacksonville State 5
Tennessee Tech 5, @Eastern Kentucky 1
@Eastern Illinois 7, Murray State 4
@Eastern Illinois 4, Murray State 1
Morehead State 5, @Tennessee State 1
@Tennessee State 8, Morehead State 6
UT MARTIN 5, AUSTIN PEAY 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team once again leaned on another dominating performance by sophomore pitcher Kenzi Tate and timely hitting throughout the lineup to give the Skyhawks the 5-2 victory over Ohio Valley Conference division rival Austin Peay Saturday.
UT Martin (23-9, 7-2 OVC) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second innings with a walk by Becca Williams. The senior quickly stole just her second base of the season to move into scoring position with Jessie Britt at the plate. Britt rewarded Williams hustle by lacing an RBI double down the left field line to score Williams.
Speedster Kayla Wade, who in the first inning moved into a tie of third on the UTM all-time triples list, made the defense pay yet again in the bottom of the third after being hit by a pitch on the back. The junior proceeded to tally her fourth stole base of the series to move into scoring position when Leah Taylor crushed a line drive off the left field wall for an RBI double, giving UTM the 2-0 advantage after three.
Austin Peay (10-16, 1-7 OVC) soon responded in the top of the fourth as Lauren de Castro led off the inning with a single up the middle. Catcher Mel Pavel scored de Castro on an RBI double to left center which Bettye Giles Field narrowly held. Abby Guest helped her own cause as the pitcher tallied a double of her own to score the runner from second and knot the game at two.
The Skyhawks quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning to take control of the game as they pushed across two runs. Lauren Smith, who has hit a commanding .579 in the last seven games, drove a liner into the right field gap resulting in a double. Williams then reached on an infield single off the glove of the diving shortstop to give the Skyhawks runners on second and third after she scampered to second on the throw into the infield. Britt soon welcomed the new Lady Govs pitcher by dumping a single just inside the right field line to score pinch runner Kelsey Dixon from third. Britt and fellow freshman Rachel Scrum successfully pulled a double steal of second and home to bring the score to a 4-2 Skyhawk advantage after four innings of play. Britt finished the day 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The Skyhawks tallied their fifth and final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when two miscues by the APSU shortstop allowed Smith to cross the plate.
Tate (13-1, 2.48 ERA), the OVC’s leader in wins produced yet another gem as she limited the gutsy Lady Govs to just five hits on the day while allowing just two earned runs. She struck out five while allowing just one walk to notch her 12th win on the campaign.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, BELMONT 2; BELMONT 7, JACKSONVILLE STATE 5
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont softball team (11-16, 2-7 OVC) used hot bats and strong pitching to come away with a split at home against Jacksonville State (19-15, 5-4 OVC) on Saturday. The Bruins were edged 3-2 in game one but rallied in the nightcap for a 7-5 victory.
For the day, sophomore Kirbie Ferrell (Pasadena, Texas) batted .571 with a double, a triple and three RBI. Freshman Jordan Day (Humble, Texas) finished batting .500 with a double while sophomore Kat Hollingsworth (Carrollton, Texas) hit .429 with a homerun and two RBI.
Inside the circle, four Bruins saw work. Junior Brittanie Albright (Franklin, Tenn.) and freshman Carolyn Snodgress (Torrance, Calif.) each tallied two strikeouts.
Tiffany Harbin picked up on the win for the Gamecocks in the first game. Sara Borders went 2 for 4 in the first game with a pair of doubles. Cadi Oliver hit a three-run home run in the nightcap.
SIUE 9, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Haley Chambers won her ninth straight game Saturday as SIUE softball cruised to a 9-1 six-inning victory over Southeast Missouri at the SE Softball Complex.
The win completed the three-game sweep for the Cougars and also was the third straight short game over the Redhawks, now 10-18 and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. SIUE improved to an OVC-best 22-8 overall with a 7-2 record in OVC play.
SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said Chambers was a bit up in the strike zone in allowing seven hits but worked her way to victory.
Chambers struck out seven did not allow an earned run for the weekend. SEMO's lone run Saturday came in the second inning after the Redhawks were already behind 4-0.
SIUE catcher Samantha Stanicek, one of three players with two RBIs, said Chambers has handled the pressure despite being just a freshman.
SIUE's offense continued to shine with seven different players recording at least one hit. SIUE hit .425 for the weekend series, recorded 33 runs, and finished with 11 extra-base hits.
The Cougars grabbed the lead from the start as Chelsea Yankolovich led off the game with a double down the left field line and off the fence against SEMO starter Taylor Cowan. After a successful sacrifice bunt by Taylor Tooley, Alex McDavid put SIUE up 1-0 with an RBI on a fielder's choice.
SIUE rallied for three runs in the second inning. After Brittany Toney, who went 6 for 6 Friday, was hit by a pitch to start the second inning, Kayla Riggs successfully made it to first on a sacrifice bunt. Stanicek and Jordan LaFave picked up back-to-back RBIs, and Tooley made it 4-0 with an RBI single of her own.
SEMO tried to slow down the Cougar offense by switching pitchers. The Redhawks brought in Hannah Clemons and Lindsey Patterson when the Cougars sent 11 batters to the plate in the sixth inning.
Stanicek led off the five-run fifth and was hit by a pitch. On her second time around, she was walked with the bases loaded. In between, the Cougars rapped four singles and earned two walks. That included a two-run single by Rachel Coonrod.
TENNESSEE TECH 5, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - Tennessee Tech pitcher Taylor Ketchum limited the Eastern Kentucky University softball team to two hits as the visiting Golden Eagles took the rubber game of the three-game series Saturday afternoon, 5-1.
The Colonels (19-14, 6-4 OVC) have now dropped four of their last five games overall.
TTU (13-14, 2-3) scored first in the third inning behind a two-out RBI double from Madison Taylor.
Eastern responded in its half of the third with an unearned run.
However, Tennessee Tech took the lead for good in with a pair of runs in the fifth thanks to three EKU errors. The Golden Eagles added two insurance runs in the sixth which included a bases loaded walk by Hannah Eldridge.
Ketchum (10-5) won two games in the series for TTU, giving up only two earned runs in 12 innings pitched.
Sophomore pitcher Leanna Pittsenbarger (12-7) took the loss for the Colonels. She was charged with all five runs allowed in five-plus innings pitched.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 7, MURRAY STATE 4; EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, MURRAY STATE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball earned the weekend series sweep of Ohio Valley Conference west division foe Murray State on Saturday, as the Panthers remain all alone in first place in the league standings following 7-4 and 4-1 victories.
EIU improves to 19-9 overall and 9-1 in the conference slate, while the Racers of Murray State dropped to 12-18 and 5-4, respectively.
Following a Friday pitching duel in which the Panthers gutted out a 1-0 victory, the two squads erupted for 43 total hits and 17 combined runs in a pair of slug fests as each game featured multiple lead changes and exciting play both at the plate and on the field.
In the twinbill, sophomore Hannah Cole led all Panthers with a blistering .714 (5-for-7) plate performance behind five hits, which included a double and an RBI single.
Juniors Reynae Hutchinson and Ashleigh Westover followed with .600 bat marks as each went 3-for-5, with Westover earning an RBI shot, while Hutchinson delivered a crucial base-clearing double in the first contest to blow the game open.
Sophomore Bailey O'Dell added two RBI of her own, including her team-leading fifth homer of the season.
Following her 11 strikeout performance on Friday, junior pitcher Hanna Mennenga added two more wins with ten additional Ks on Saturday, as she tallied ten innings of work. For the weekend, she held Murray State to a .167 batting average behind a low 0.41 ERA as she allowed just one earned run and scattered ten hits and struck out 21 total batters.
In the first game, EIU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first off O'Dell's RBI single. But the visiting Racers would counter by plating a run in both the second and third frames to enjoy the 2-1 lead.
The Panthers would tie and retake the lead at 3-2 in the fourth as Haylee Beck's RBI single through the left side plated pinch-runner Kaylee Pruett from third. Melise Brown then delivered a sac fly RBI to bring home Hutchinson.
However, the Racers would once again counter with two runs in the fifth, leading to Hutchinson's game-winning three-run double, as she brought home Westover, Owens and Cole thanks to her blast through the right side that would reach the back fence.
Morgan Biel's ground-out RBI would account for the final Panther score as EIU would earn the 7-4 victory as Mennenga finished her three innings of relief by striking out three of the last six batters she faced in the final two frames.
In the night cap, EIU once again got on the scoreboard first as Westover delivered an RBI single to right field in the third inning, but would end up being thrown out at second attempting to go the extra bag.
Murray State would make things interesting yet again with their lone run in the top of the fifth off a hard-hit double to left center. But the Panthers would claw back by plating a trio of scores in the sixth for the margin of victory.
After O'Dell blasted a walk-up homer, EIU would then load the bases as pinch-hitter April Markowski stepped up and delivered a blistering RBI shot over the first baseman's head to bring home Hutchinson. Cole followed with her own base-hit RBI to left, scoring Biel.
Mennenga again picked up the complete game victory, but was held to just four strikeouts. She improved to an impressive 12-4 season mark in the circle.
MOREHEAD STATE 5, TENNESSEE STATE 1; TENNESSEE STATE 8, MOREHEAD STATE 6
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Morehead State softball team split with Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Division opponent Tennessee State, 5-1 and 8-6, on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Field.
The Eagles move to 11-11 overall and 1-5 in the conference action with the victory, while the Tigers are now 11-22 on the season and 2-7 in league play.
MSU used a four-run seventh inning to earn the 5-1 victory in game one of the doubleheader. Senior Katie Pfost earned the win in the circle to improve to 6-5 on the season. She struck out eight in the contest and only surrendered one walk. Sophomore Shea Morris suffered the loss for the Tigers to put her at 7-11.
The Eagles registered 12 hits, including five in the seventh inning. Nine different players recorded hits for MSU, while seniors Amber Riddle and Elizabeth Wagner and junior Stephanie Etter picked up RBI. TSU only managed seven hits.
The Tigers got the scoring started in the second inning, when freshman Jayna Hanawahine connected on her third home run of the season with a solo shot over the left-field fence. MSU struggled to even the score until Etter connected on an RBI single in the top of the fourth that brought in Wagner.
MSU strung together a series of singles and three-run double from Wagner in the seventh to secure the victory.
In the nightcap, TSU took the early lead with runs in each of the first two innings. However, the Eagle offense generated three runs in the top half of the third off a two-run double from senior Kayla Ashbrook and an RBI-single from Riddle.
The Tigers were able to regain the lead off a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth, but it was short lived as MSU put up a pair off a fielder’s choice from Etter and throwing error that scored senior Samantha Woodall and freshman Dana Hutchins. The Eagles tacked on an additional run off a passed ball in the sixth.
The final lead change of the contest went to the Tigers when they added four runs in the sixth to earn the win.
Pfost (6-6) suffered the loss for the Eagles in one inning. Junior Kelcey McMurray, who was the starter, put in five innings, allowed seven earned runs and struck out three. TSU junior Olivia Gamache improved her record to 4-11 with the win.
At the plate, Riddle tallied three hits, while Wagner added two more to bring her total to five on the day. Ashbrook had a team-high two RBI.