SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 1, Tennessee State 0
@Morehead State 4, Tennessee State 2
@Eastern Illinois 4, Austin Peay 3
@Eastern Illinois 3, Austin Peay 2
@Jacksonville State 3, Belmont 0
@Jacksonville State 11, Belmont 0
Eastern Kentucky 2, @Tennessee Tech 0
@Tennessee Tech 9, Eastern Kentucky 1
@Murray State 5, SIUE 4 (10)
@Murray State 7, SIUE 2
@UT Martin 6, Southeast Missouri 1
@UT Martin 12, Southeast Missouri 6
MOREHEAD STATE 1, TENNESSEE STATE 0; MOREHEAD STATE 4, TENNESSEE STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - - Junior pitcher Tanna Seuferer did not allow a run in 11.1 innings, and senior second baseman Stephanie Etter delivered a walk-off double in game one to help lift the Morehead State softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Tennessee State on Saturday at University Field. The Eagles took game one 1-0 in eight innings and had 11 hits in a 4-2 victory in the nightcap.
The opener was the first extra inning affair for the Eagles (13-30-1, 8-13), who have won five of their last six Ohio Valley Conference contests. With its loss in game two, Tennessee State (16-36, 4-18) dropped its 11th straight.
Seuferer (8-13) was tagged for eight hits in the opener but did not allow a runner to advance past second base. The Chariton, Iowa, native retired 10 straight to pick up the game-two victory in relief of senior pitcher Kelcey McMurray, who allowed two runs on three hits with five walks in 3.1 innings.
Seuferer, who tossed her second straight shutout, has not allowed an earned run in 31.1 consecutive innings.
Etter's heroics were set up when sophomore first baseman Dana Hutchins reached on an error with one out and freshman Kayla McGuffey walked.
Shea Morris (9-13) took the loss in relief, as she gave up only two hits in 4.2 innings. Morris and TSU starting pitcher Olivia Gamache combined to retire 13 straight Eagle hitters.
McGuffey, Etter and sophomore right fielder Tressa Watson had two hits apiece in the nightcap. Senior shortstop Samantha Howard had a two-run single in the bottom of the third inning, a frame that saw the Eagles plate three runs.
TSU scored both of its runs in the fourth inning, using an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk.
Hannah St. Clair (3-11) was saddled with surrendering all four runs on five hits in relief in the game-two loss. Gamache and Morris allowed three hits apiece.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, AUSTIN PEAY 3; EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, AUSTIN PEAY 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball clawed past visiting Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay off consecutive walk-off victories, 4-3 and 3-2, on Saturday afternoon, as the Panthers honored eight standout seniors during the regular-season home finale weekend slate.
With the two dramatic wins, Eastern moves to 36-13 overall and 16-4 in league play. The Lady Govs, meanwhile, drop to 19-29 and 7-15 overall.
Due to expected inclement weather late tomorrow afternoon, the start time of Sunday's series finale with APSU has been pushed up a couple hours, as the two OVC West Division foes will now face off at 11 a.m.
Highlights of the sweep include senior Stephanie Maday coming one pitch shy of her third no-hitter as she registered a new career-best strikeout tally by fanning 17 Lady Govs in the nightcap victory.
Meanwhile, five different Panthers earned an RBI on the day as senior Reynae Hutchinson and sophomore April Markowski paced EIU with 3-for-6 plate performances.
Junior Hannah Cole and sophomore Haylee Beck added two hits of their own, as Beck registered the lone stolen base.
The visitors earned an early 3-0 first game lead in the third inning as walk-up triple led to a sac fly RBI, followed by a two-run homer by APSU senior pitcher Lauren de Castro.
Panthers would be held in check the next three innings, despite stranding a pair of runners in the fifth.
But the home squad would earn the late-game comeback in the bottom of the seventh as senior Carly Willert hit an RBI single to center field to plate Hutchinson, who had reached on her own single before advancing to third thanks to a Markowski double.
Sophomore pinch hitter Kylie Bennett then added a sac fly RBI to bring home Markowski to pull to within 3-2 of Peay.
The late game heroics would come off the bat of Jennette Isaac, as the sophomore placed a bunt between the home plate and pitching circle, which allowed Willert to tie the game following the errant fielder’s choice throw to home by the APSU pitcher.
The play continued with Beck also scampering all the way from second base to score thrilling walk-off run and comeback victory.
Senior Hanna Mennenga earned the complete game win to improve to 19-4 overall as she retired seven Lady Govs via strikes.
EIU earned the win behind seven hits, compare to three for Peay, as both squads committed an error.
In the nightcap, Maday pitched a complete game gem, as she held a no-hitter through the first six innings, and striking out 17 total Lady Govs. Only a single up the middle, following a pair of walks, helped the visitors tie the game at two-apiece in the top of the seventh.
Eastern previously enjoyed a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice by Hutchinson and RBI hit by Markowski in the fourth inning, which scored senior pinch runner Kylie Pruett and Hutchinson, respectively.
With the nightcap going into extra innings, the Panthers would earn the second consecutive walk-off victory off Cole’s double to plate senior Brooke Owens, who singled, before being moved to second off the sac bunt by junior Bailey O’Dell.
Maday held the Lady Govs to a low .040 bat average in the win, surrendering just one hit and three walks.
For the day, EIU led APSU in hitting (.273-to-.082), runs (seven-to-five), hits (15-to-four), doubles (six-to-zero), total bases (21-to-nine), and dominated the pitching game with a lead in strikeouts (24-to-two).
With the sweep, Eastern has now won ten straight over APSU in the series history.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, BELMONT 0; JACKSONVILLE STATE 11, BELMONT 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - - Thanks to a pair of pitching gems from senior Tiffany Harbin and freshman Logan Green, Jacksonville State pulled out a 3-0 win and then rolled to an 11-0 rout in a doubleheader sweep of Belmont on Saturday at University Field.
Freshman Brooke Carvey's pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth broke a scoreless tie in the first game and gave the Gamecocks (35-12, 19-4 Ohio Valley Conference) and Harbin the win. A walk-off grand slam from sophomore Cadi Oliver sealed an offensive onslaught in the finale, while Green kept the Bruins (12-31, 6-16 OVC) off of the scoreboard.
The wins, coupled with a Murray State sweep of SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday, catapulted the Gamecocks into sole possession of first place in the OVC race with four games remaining. The regular season champion earns the right to host the 2014 OVC Softball Championship May 7-10.
Harbin struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced en route to her 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout in the opener, continuing her dominance of OVC hitters. The Hazel Green, Ala., native improved to 15-6 on the season and ran her scoreless innings streak against league foes to 35.2 innings. She has now taken the circle in 89 innings in OVC play this year, 83 of which have been shutout frames.
She allowed just four baserunners in her 18th complete game in 22 starts this season. Her 11th shutout of the year ties North Carolina State's Emily Weiman and Eastern Kentucky's Leanna Pittsenbarger for the most in the nation in 2014. Her seven innings also give her 760 in her career to break Jill Wilcoxson's school record set from 1998-01.
Belmont's Carolyn Snodgress (1-4) matched Harbin with zeroes on the scoreboard until the sixth, when the Gamecocks finally got a big hit. That hit came from Carvey, who was making her first plate appearance since March 29. She delivered Snodgress' 1-2 pitch into right center with two on, scoring Amanda Maldonado from second to give JSU the first lead of the afternoon.
Sophomore Ella Denes followed with an RBI single of her own and junior Sara Borders with a sac fly to stake Harbin to a 3-0 lead with just three outs left to record. Snodgress suffered the loss after allowing just three runs on nine hits and four walks in six innings in the circle. She struck out seven.
Freshman Taylor Sloan had three hits and Savannah Sloan two in the nine-hit game for JSU, while Belmont scattered its three hits among three players.
Green (11-2) also continued to impress in the circle in her first season in Gamecock red. The Hebron, Md., native allowed just three hits and didn't issue a walk in her ninth complete game and fifth shutout of the year.
She got plenty of run support and it started early with a four-run second inning. A leadoff walk to Savannah Sloan, who then stole second, led to an RBI double from Amanda Maldonado that put JSU on the board. Maldonado scored on a fielding error by third baseman Mia Verra, and then senior Kalee Tabor went deep over the center field wall to give JSU a 4-0 lead. Tabor, a Lake Mary, Fla., native, tied Borders for the OVC lead with her 12th homer of the year.
Oliver picked up the first of seven RBI in the game with the grounder that led to the error in the third. She then plated two in the third on a single through the right side and four more on her grand slam in the fifth. The seven RBI ties for the second-most in a game in school history.
Belmont starter Taylor Moon (7-11) took the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, on five hits in 2.2 innings of work. Verra pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and a walk.
Oliver was the lone Gamecock with multiple hits in her 2-for-3 game, one that saw eight of the nine JSU starters record at least one hit.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 2, TENNESSEE TECH 0; TENNESSEE TECH 9, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech softball team continued its roll of late, splitting a doubleheader with Eastern Kentucky (27-18, 14-7) in the first two of a three-game series under a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at Tech Softball Field. The Golden Eagles (19-33, 11-12) have now won seven of their last nine games.
After a classic pitcher's duel between Tech's Hannah Weaver (6-18) and EKU's Leanna Pittsenbarger (19-8) swung the Colonels way with a 2-0 Eastern Kentucky victory, TTU responded with a dominating 9-1 showing that ended in five innings in the second tilt to salvage the split.
The Golden Eagles opened up the second game by throwing up a six-spot in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on some shaky EKU play as Tech had just one hit in the frame. TTU walked four times and was hit with a pitch in the inning, using three Colonel errors as well to jump out to the 6-0 advantage. The lone hit in the frame came off the bat of freshman Alyssa Richards as the Italy, Texas native singled through the right side to plate sophomore Madison Taylor with the first run of the inning.
Richards would go on to reach base three times in the game, going 2-for-2 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI.
Following the Richards run-scoring knock, EKU starting pitcher Haley Flynn (6-3) walked four straight, including free passes to sophomore Cortney Fry and junior Hannah Eldridge with the bases loaded to push the Tech lead to 3-0.
With the bases still juiced and only one down, freshman Gabby Perez reached on an error that scored both sophomore Samantha Cook and Hannah Eldridge, before senior Kayla Floyd capped off the first inning barrage with a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Fry to give TTU a commanding 6-0 edge.
Fry would be heard from later in the affair, with the 5-foot-6 third baseman slugging her first home run of the season in the bottom of the third, a leadoff shot over the right centerfield wall to push the Golden Eagle lead to 7-0.
Similar to Richards, Fry would also reach three times via a walk and two hits, ending the second game with two runs scored and three RBI.
Tech would go on to score another run in the third behind a Madison Taylor run-scoring single, before TTU put a ribbon on its scoring with a two-out Fry RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to give the Golden Eagles a 9-0 advantage.
Inside the circle, freshman Danielle Liberatore (11-10) held up her end of the bargain with her sixth consecutive OVC victory thanks to a complete game effort in which the Peotone, Ill. native gave up just one run on only two hits.
Sophomore Haley Flynn was hit with the loss after lasting just three innings and surrendering eight runs (five earned) on four hits and five walks.
Eastern Kentucky junior starting pitcher Leanna Pittsenbarger led the Colonels to a win in the opening game, 2-0, just edging out Tech's Hannah Weaver in a gritty pitcher's duel.
Both pitchers went the distance with Pittsenbarger earning the victory behind a three-hit shutout in which the 5-foot-8 righty struck out nine Golden Eagles. Weaver suffered the tough luck loss, despite allowing just two runs on nine hits.
Scoreless through three, EKU plated solo runs in the fourth and fifth to account for the Colonel scoring. Junior Katie Tackett collected a one-out RBI single down the left field line in the fourth for Eastern Kentucky's first run, while a two-out run-scoring single to left from senior Christina Ciolek in the fifth gave EKU their second score.
UT MARTIN 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1; UT MARTIN 12, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team snapped a pair of streaks with a pair of outstanding offensive performances to pick up two victories over Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri and clinch a spot in the upcoming OVC Tournament on UTM Appreciation Day at Skyhawk Park.
The Skyhawks (25-24-1, 12-9) came into the weekend after dropping eight of their last nine games and being held scoreless in their previous two games this week. The home team quickly snapped both of those streaks by picking up a pair of victories while combining to outscore the Redhawks 18-7 on the day with wins of 6-1 and 12-6.
Several players stood out for the Skyhawks on the offensive side of the ball as leadoff hitter Gabby Glenn went 3-for-5 from the plate, tallying two RBIs while drawing one walk and being hit-by-pitch on two occasions. Carly Gonzales led the team with five RBIs on the day while tallying three hits, including one double. Casey Vincent broke a previous career high against Southeast Missouri, with four RBI performance against the Redhawks, going 2-for-4 in Game 2. Sophomore Deven Wilson joined in the action, notching three RBIs on three hits.
UT Martin had three pitchers see action against Southeast Missouri, highlighted by the performance of freshman Elizabeth Wiegand. Wiegand (11-6) tossed a complete game which saw the young arm strike out four while issuing one walk and holding SEMO to zero earned runs. Vincent started Game 2, registering one our while allowing two earned runs. Brooke Kennedy (5-3) appeared in relief, striking out four and allowing four earned runs in 6.2 innings of work.
Game 1: UT Martin 6, Southeast Missouri 1
UT Martin got on the board first in the bottom half of the third inning. Gabby Glenn led off the inning with a single to left center field before being moved to second base on a sacrifice single by Gonzales. After being moved to third with two outs following a groundout, Gabby Glenn would come around to score for the first run of the game on an RBI single to center field by Wilson.
The Skyhawks would explode in the sixth inning with five runs to put the game out of reach. Wade would tally a one-out single before reaching second on an error. Smith would tally another walk before Kelsey Dixon would notch an RBI single up the middle. Gabby Glenn would add another run with a single to left center, scoring sister Autumn Glenn from third. Gonzales would tally the final hit of the inning with a double to left field which would bring two Skyhawks across the plate. The Skyhawks would take a 6-0 lead into the seventh inning.
Southeast Missouri would break into the scoring column with a run in the seventh inning. Meaghan Touchette would draw a walk before coming around to score on a throwing error following a single by Kelsey Gass. The run would prove to be the final score of the game as the Skyhawks won 6-1.
Game 2: UT Martin 12, Southeast Missouri 6
Southeast Missouri would waste little time getting into the scoring column in Game 2. Lindsey Patterson would led off the inning with a single up the middle before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. Patterson’s time of the basepaths would come to a close when Savannah Carpenter belted a two-run home run over the left field scoreboard to give the Redhawks the 2-0 lead.
The Skyhawks would look to respond in the bottom half of the inning as Gabby Glenn led off the inning by being struck by a pitch. Wilson would move Gabby Glenn into scoring position with a single down the right field line. Vincent would get back the two runs which she gave up in the first with a two-run double to left center, evening the score at 2-2.
UT Martin would take control of the game in the second inning with five runs. Taylor Manning would lead off the inning with a walk before Lauren Smith singled up the middle. The bases would then become loaded on the next at bat as McClure was hit by a pitch. Gabby Glenn would register another RBI after drawing a bases loaded walk, scoring Manning.
Gonzales would great the new Redhawk pitcher Aubrey Denno with a two-run single through the right side before Gonzales and Gabby Glenn converted a double steal for another run. Vincent would put the final nail in the inning with an RBI double to right center as the Skyhawks held a 7-2 advantage.
The Redhawks would retaliate in the top of the third inning with three runs of their own to cut the Skyhawk margin to 7-5. Three players would notch consecutive singles to score the first run in the inning before an additional two runs came across the plate.
Vincent would tally her fourth and final RBI of the day on a groundout which scored pinch runner Bella Zizzi following a single by Nidiffer.
The Skyhawks would notch the final blow against the Redhawks in the bottom of the fifth inning after scoring four runs. Gonzales would notch another RBI single up the middle before Nidiffer tallied brought in a run following an RBI groundout. Wilson would cap the inning and day for the Skyhawks with a single up the middle which scored two runs, giving the Skyhawks a 12-5 lead.
Southeast Missouri would notch the final run of the day with a home run to left field by Patterson but that would be the closest that the Redhawks would get as the Skyhawks won 12-6.
MURRAY STATE 5, SIUE 4; MURRAY STATE 7, SIUE 2
MURRAY, Ky. - Playing in its final road series of the regular season, the SIUE softball team lost a pair of games against Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State Saturday afternoon at Racer Field
The Cougars fell 5-4 in ten innings in game one before the Racers prevailed 7-2 in game two.
SIUE (24-21, 16-5 OVC) had a seven-game OVC winning streak snapped with the doubleheader sweep. It was also the first time since April 6 that the Cougars pitching staff allowed five or more runs in a game.
In game one, both teams scored an early run and took a 1-1 tie into the fifth inning. Murray State (27-21, 13-8 OVC) broke through for three runs in bottom of the fifth, highlighted by Alyssa Becker hitting her second home run of the game.
The Cougars had an immediate response, however, scoring three runs of their own in the next half inning. Kayla Riggs got things going with an RBI single that plated Allison Smiley and Rebecca Gray, before Jill Rackers drove Riggs home with an infield single.
The teams would go scoreless for the next four innings of play until Leslie Bridges drove home the winning run for MSU with an RBI sacrifice fly in the 10th inning.
For the Cougars, Haley Chambers allowed four earned runs on six hits over 9.2 innings and posted nine strikeouts in the loss.
In game two, the Racers broke the game open with a four-run third inning before adding two in the fourth and one in the fifth. Bridges led the way offensively for the hosts by going 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
SIUE got two runs in the seventh inning off RBI singles from Chelsea Yankolovich and Alex McDavid. Yankolovich and Smiley combined for five of the Cougars' nine hits in the game.