THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Evansville 6,
Southeast Missouri 5
@Evansville 8,
Southeast Missouri 4
@UAB 5,
Murray State 2
@Austin Peay 5, Northern Kentucky 1
@Austin Peay 13, Northern Kentucky 0 (5)
Lousiana Tech 7,
@Belmont 3
EVANSVILLE 6, SOUTEHAST MISSOURI 5; EVANSVILLE 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - - The Southeast Missouri softball team dropped a pair of games to Missouri Valley Conference opponent Evansville Thursday afternoon in Evansville, Ind. Game one was an extra-inning affair that ultimately saw Evansville (12-9) prevail 6-5 while game two was 8-4.
Game 1 Evansville 6 Southeast Missouri 5
A four-run sixth inning gave the Redhawks (5-13) a 5-3 lead as Meaghan Touchette hit her first home run of the season, driving in Rachael Duncan who reached base on an error and Kelsey Gass who reached base on a walk.
After Nicole Deering reached base on an error Savannah Carpenter hit an RBI single, scoring Deering from second base.
The Purple Aces countered the Southeast offensive output by scoring two runs of their own on a pair of home runs, one each from Susan Norris and Kirsten O'Conner.
In extra innings and with a runner placed on second base via the international tie-break rule, Evansville advanced runner Kayla Fortner to third base on a groundout. Fortner then scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
The Redhawks jumped on the scoreboard first with a Summer Burger stolen base as she stole home plate. Burger reached base after being hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a ground ball.
Evansville scored its first two runs of the game in the third inning and adding another in the fourth.
Keaira Schilling (1-4) was charged with the loss while Briana Combs (3-1) earned the victory.
The Redhawks scored five runs on four hits and two Evansville errors while the Purple Aces scored their six runs on 10 hits.
Game 2 Evansville 8 Southeast Missouri 4
The Redhawks took an early 2-0 lead as Duncan singled into centerfield scoring Jamie Woodworth in the first inning. That followed with a Touchette home run to lead off the second inning, her second home run of the day.
The Purple Aces countered with a five-run third inning as Emma Buckles began the scoring with a 2 RBI single. Buckles was able to score as Megan Gurksi reached base on an error and was followed by a homerun from Fortner.
The Redhawks scored in a third-straight inning as Haylee Krack led off the third with a homerun, her team-leading fourth homer of the season.
With Evansville holding the 5-3 lead, the home squad added three more runs in the fourth inning behind the bat of Norris. Her home run scored Fortner and Chandral Parr.
Southeast would try to mount a comeback in the top of the seventh as KC Saxe and Deering each reached base on balls. With Woodworth at the plate, Saxe and Deering were able to move up a base on a Purple Aces wild pitch.
Saxe then scored as Woodworth reached base on an error. However that was all the offense the Redhawks could get in the seventh inning, falling 8-4.
The Redhawks notched six hits led by a 2-for-3 effort from Duncan. The Purple Aces had seven hits.
Annie Moore (3-1) was the winning pitcher while Aubrey Denno (2-5) took the loss.
Southeast continues its stay on the road with the Ohio Valley Conference opener on Saturday against Eastern Kentucky. The two-game series is followed with a two-game series at Morehead State on Sunday.
UAB 5, MURRAY STATE 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Murray State softball team fell to UAB, 5-2, Thursday afternoon at the UAB Softball Complex in Birmingham.
The Blazers (15-13) did all of their damage in the second innings behind two big swings from Caitlin Atfield and Kristen McGrath. Atfield was the first to go yard in the frame after Murray State walked and hit a batter to begin the inning. Two batters later, after a single by Danii Fernandez, McGrath hit the padding on the wall in right field to make it 5-0.
The Racers (11-13) narrowed the score in the sixth and it all began with a single from Maggie Glass to lead off the inning. Three batters later, Alexa Becker cut the lead to 5-2 with her sixth home run of the year. However, that would be the only two runs of the afternoon for MSU, as it dropped its sixth consecutive game.
Along with Glass and Becker, four other Racers tallied hits in the game including Jessica Twaddle, Leslie Bridges, Casey Castile and Jocelynn Rodgers. J.J. Francis took the loss for Murray State in the game after allowing five runs on five hits over 2.0 innings to fall to 2-2 on the season. CheyAnne Gaskey pitched the final five innings and allowed no runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
On Saturday, Murray State will resume OVC play when it travels to Nashville for a doubleheader at Tennessee State. First pitch between the Racers and the Tigers is set for 1 p.m.
AUSITN PEAY 5, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 1; AUSTIN PEAY 13, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University made the most of its first home games in almost a month, Thursday afternoon at Cheryl Holt Field, as they Lady Govs swept a doubleheader from Northern Kentucky by 5-1 and 13-0 finals.
The Lady Govs (11-14) got two solid pitching performances in earning the sweep, starting with a four-hit effort from freshman Sidney Hooper (2-2) in the opener, followed by a two-hit shutout by senior Lauren de Castro in the nightcap.
Hooper would give up three of the four hits recorded by the Norse (2-19) in the top of the first inning, with Dee Dee Davis driving in Dana Jarboe with an RBI single to make it 1-0.
But Austin Peay would take advantage of a Northern Kentucky error in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 1-1 on a sacrifice fly by de Castro.
The score would remain that way until the bottom of the third inning, when senior Kayla Davidson would drive in sophomore Marissa Lake with an opposite-field triple and then scoring ahead of a double by de Castro.
Davidson and de Castro would both finish with two hits each in the contest, with de Castro driving in three.
The Lady Govs would tack on two final runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, with de Castro driving in the first run on her second double of the game, while the other came in courteously of a Northern Kentucky error.
As well as Austin Peay played in the opener, Game 2 may have been the most complete game the Lady Govs have played all year as they recorded their second highest run and hit total of the year -- while not committing an error on defense and only allowing two hits.
Austin Peay would jump out early, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of Game 2 on an RBI single by de Castro, but it was the six-run second inning that broke the game open.
Highlighting the inning was a grand-slam home run by Davidson – her third home run of the year – with sophomore Mel Pavel following with her first round-tripper of the season three pitches later.
The other run in the inning came in on an RBI single by senior Amanda De Vries.
That inning took all of the wind out of the Norse sails, as Austin Peay took advantage of three Northern Kentucky errors in the third inning – along with four hits – to plate six more runs to make it 13-0.
Davidson, de Castro and fifth-year senior Kristin Whitmire had RBIs in the inning.
Following her 2-for-2 effort in the opener, de Castro finished the second game going 3-for-4, while Lake, Davidson, Pavel and De Vries all had two hits each.
The shutout was the third of the season for de Castro (7-5) who, along with giving up only two hits, struck out six and walked none.
LOUISIANA TECH 7, BELMONT 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont Softball gave up seven runs in the six and seventh innings as Louisiana Tech rallied for a 7-3 victory Thursday evening at Rose Park.
The Bruins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as an RBI single from Kayla Wells (Bonney Lake, Wash.) and a throwing error from Louisiana Tech's pitcher scored three BU runs through the first five innings.
Tech responded as the Bianca Duran hit a grand slam home run to left field in the top of the sixth inning as the Lady Techsters pulled ahead, 4-3.
Louisiana Tech (9-19) used the long ball to their advantage again in the seventh inning as Pauline Tufi hit a three-run shot also to left field as Tech a defeated the Bruins, 7-3.
Five different Bruins each accounted for a hit while Mia Vierra (Palmdale, Calif.) led the way with 2 RBI on the contest.
Belmont (7-14) will return to action this weekend as the Bruins travel to Austin Peay for a doubleheader Saturday.