SATURDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 4, @Southeast Missouri 1
@Southeast Missouri 13, Austin Peay 4 (5)
Jacksonville State 10, @Tennessee State 0
@Belmont 4, Tennessee Tech 3
AUSTIN PEAY 4, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 13, AUSTIN PEAY 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - - Haylee Krack went 6-for-7 with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI as Southeast Missouri (7-17, 2-4) split a doubleheader with Austin Peay (15-16, 4-4) Saturday afternoon at the Southeast Softball Complex. The Lady Govs took game one, 4-1, before the Redhawks won the nightcap, 13-4.
Krack went a perfect 3-for-3 and hit a solo home run for Southeast's lone tally in the first game. She then followed that up by going 3-for-4 with another homer and five RBI. Krack, who leads the Redhawks with seven home runs, hit a three-run bomb to polish off her team's nine-run win.
Southeast pounded out a season-high 14 hits and matched its season-best in runs to down the Lady Govs.
The Redhawks took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Krack knocked in Leah Duffe on a single to center and later scored on Jamie Woodworth's double. Rachael Duncan flied out to right and Woodworth scored to get Southeast the early lead.
Southeast batted around and added another four more runs on five hits in the second.
Kelsey Gass and Duffe both walked and Nicole Deering reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Four-straight hits came after that, including RBI-singles by Chelsea Smith, Lindsey Patterson, Krack and Woodworth. That outburst pushed the Redhawks lead to 7-1.
APSU managed to pull to within three runs in the fourth, but that was as close as it would get.
Southeast answered with three-run home runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to polish off its five-inning victory. Meaghan Touchette homered in the fourth before Krack ended things with her round-tripper in the fifth.
Aubrey Denno (3-5) was credited with the win, working four innings. Denno gave up eight hits and four runs, while striking out two and walking none.
Sidney Hooper (3-3) took the loss. Hooper exited early after scattering three hits and allowing three runs in just one-third of an inning. Tayler Mills and Brianna Bartuccio pitched the rest of the way for APSU.
Southeast outhit the Lady Govs, 14-9, with four different Redhawks getting multiple-hits. Krack and Patterson paved the way with three hits apiece. Woodworth and Deering followed close behind with two each.
In game one, Kayla Davidson went 2-for-3 with two doubles, scored once and knocked in three runs to lead APSU.
The game was scoreless after two innings before the Lady Govs used three-straight two-out hits to grab a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Marissa Lake sparked the rally with a single to center and scored on Davidson's ensuing double to right field. Mel Pavel added a double to right on the next play and Davidson touched home.
Southeast, after missing an opportunity with the bases loaded in the fourth, cut APSU's lead in half when Krack smacked a home run over the right field fence to start the bottom of the sixth. Lauren de Castro regrouped to strike out both Duffe and Patterson, and forced Duncan to ground out, ending the inning.
The Lady Govs tacked on two more runs courtesy of another double by Davidson to push their lead to 4-1 in the top of the seventh.
De Castro (10-6) picked up her 10th win of the season. She went the distance, giving up five hits and just one run. De Castro struck out 11 and walked none, as well.
Keaira Schilling (2-8) suffered her third loss in a row, scattering eight hits and allowing four runs in seven innings. Schilling also recorded seven strikeouts, her second-most in a game this year.
Krack had all but two of Southeast's hits, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored and RBI.
BELMONT 4, TENNESSEE TECH 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Belmont freshman Chelsea Deloney (Gardendale, Ala.) hit a 2-run blast to help the Bruins edge Tennessee Tech, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at Rose Park in the first contest of the three-game series.
Belmont (8-19, 2-5) found itself trailing heading into the home half of the first inning as the Golden Eagles scored a pair of runs when senior Chelsea Burgess hit a double into center field.
The Bruins matched that shot with one of their own in the bottom of the first when Kat Hollingsworth (Carrollton, Tex.) hit a single to left field driving in a pair of runs to knot the score, 2-2.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Deloney hit a two-run blast to centerfield to push the Bruins ahead, 4-2.
The homer proved to be Deloney's first of her college career.
Tennessee Tech (9-25, 1-7 OVC) drew to within a run in the top of the sixth inning off an RBI-double from freshman Allysa Richards but Tech went three up, three down in the seventh inning as Belmont held on for the one-run victory.
On the day, the Bruins recorded six hits from six different players. A triple from senior Ashley Hammer (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.), her first of the season, highlighted Belmont's offensive attack.
BU's Taylor Moon (4-5) was credited with the victory as the sophomore threw a complete game allowing three runs off five hits. The Alabama-native recorded four strikeouts on the afternoon.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 10, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State softball team built an early lead and then broke the game open in the seventh inning of a 10-0 series opening win over Tennessee State on Saturday.
On a day that saw rains postpone the start of what was supposed to be a doubleheader and allow the Gamecocks (21-9, 6-2 Ohio Valley Conference) and Tigers (14-21, 2-5 OVC) to play just one game, senior Tiffany Harbin got plenty of run support as she tossed yet another gem in the circle.
The Hazel Green, Ala., native tossed a three-hit shutout of the Tigers, her 13th complete game in 14 starts this season. She struck out 13 batters and threw just 109 pitches, 74 for strikes, allowed just two runners past first base and retired the last 12 batters she faced to improve to 8-4 on the season.
Junior Savannah Sloan gave Harbin all the support she would need in the second inning with her first homer of the season, a two-run shot to left center that scored sophomore Cadi Oliver and staked Harbin to a quick 2-0 lead.
TSU starter Hannah St. Clair settled in after that, holding JSU off the board for the next two innings, before a sac fly from sophomore Ella Denes scored senior Hayden Crawford in the fifth to make it a 3-0 game.
JSU broke the game open in the seventh, thanks to a two-out rally that resulted in seven runs and made it a 10-0 game. Junior Sara Borders singled in a pair of runs to start the rally and was followed by an RBI single from senior Kalee Tabor and a run-scoring triple from Oliver. Senior Amanda Maldonado capped the big inning with a two-run homer to straightaway center field, her seventh round tripper of the year.
St. Clair (2-7) suffered the loss after allowing 10 runs, nine earned, on 10 hits and three walks.
Borders, Oliver and Crawford each recorded two hits for JSU in the game, while Borders, Maldonado and Sloan each drove in two runs.