SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 8, Belmont 0
@Eastern Illinois 2, Austin Peay 1
@Morehead State 3, Tennessee State 2
@Tennessee Tech 3, Eastern Kentucky 2
EASTERN ILLINOIS 2, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - For the third consecutive game, Eastern Illinois softball defeated visiting Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay in dramatic walk-off fashion, as the Panthers gutted out a 2-1 (9-inn.) victory over the Lady Govs on early Saturday (April 27) afternoon at Williams Field.
The win gives the Panthers the series sweep of Peay, as Eastern finishes up the regular-season home portion of the slate at 37-13 overall and 17-4 in league play. EIU has now won 13 consecutive league contests to remain all alone in first place in the OVC West Division standings.
The Panthers earned the win thanks to a walk-off sac fly RBI by freshman pinch-hitter Kylie Bennett that scored senior Carly Willert from third base. Willert had previously drilled a walk-up triple down to the right field line the bottom of the ninth inning.
Senior pitcher Stephanie Maday earned the complete game win, moving to 17-6 on the season and 9-2 in league action. She retired nine Lady Govs via strikes and had zero walks.
Like they had done in the first meeting of the weekend, Austin Peay (19-30/7-16) would actually enjoy an early-game lead via a solo homer over the center field fence in the top of the second inning. But the Panthers would eventually tie it up in their own half of the sixth frame, as sophomore April Markowski delivered an RBI double to plate senior Reynae Hutchinson.
Both squads would end up stranding several base runners in the game, as EIU had eight to nine for APSU. The total team hits were nearly even with EIU holding a 10-to-eight advantage, while APSU committed three miscues to just one error for the Panthers.
Junior Bailey O'Dell led all Panthers at the plate off her 2-for-3 performance, while Hutchinson and Markowski both went 2-for-4 and each secured a stolen base. Markowski and sophomore Haylee Beck both delivered doubles.
With the win, EIU has now won 11 straight games over APSU in the all-time series history.
JACKSOVNILLE STATE 8, BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State softball team wrapped up its 2014 home schedule with a bang on Sunday, rolling to an 8-0 mercy-rule win and a series sweep over Belmont at University Field on Senior Day.
The Gamecocks (36-12, 20-4 Ohio Valley Conference) rattled off 11 hits in the game, one that saw them jump on the Bruins (12-32, 6-17 OVC) with a five-run first and never look back. Senior Tiffany Harbin has now tossed a shutout in her last six starts and has 12 on the year to take the national lead in that category. With her two-hitter of Belmont on Sunday, she has now thrown 40.2 consecutive scoreless innings against OVC opponents.
In her final regular season start at University Field, Harbin struck out nine Bruin batters to continue her dominance of OVC hitters in 2014. She earned the win to improve to 16-6 on the year and 12-2 against the OVC. In Conference play, she has a 0.75 earned run average and is holding opposing hitters to a 1.54 batting average while striking out 10.6 batters per seven innings. She has now been in the circle in 94 innings in league play, 88 of which have been shutout innings.
She got a little help from her fellow seniors on Senior Day after junior Sara Borders got the Gamecocks on the board with a two-run homer in the first. Her 13th homer of the year gave the Alexandria native the OVC lead and set the tone for the rest of the day.
Senior Kalee Tabor delivered the next big blow for JSU in her bases-loaded at bat later in the first. The Lake Mary, Fla., native drove Taylor Moon's 1-2 pitch into right center field to clear the bases and give her team a commanding 5-0 lead in the first.
Fellow senior Hayden Crawford also got in on the fun in the second inning. The Sparkman native stepped in with the bases loaded against Carolyn Snodgress and delivered a two-run double into left center on the first pitch she saw. The line drive that one hopped the fence gave JSU a 7-0 lead.
Senior Amanda Maldonado drove in the final JSU run in the fourth inning, thanks to a sac fly to left that scored Borders and set up a one-two-three top of the fifth from Harbin that secured the mercy-rule win.
Borders went 3-for-3 for her fifth three-hit game of the year and scored three runs to lead the JSU offensive attack. The three seniors in the lineup combined to go 4-for-6 with six RBI and a walk in their final regular season game at University Field. Tabor was 2-for-2 to lead that trio.
Kirbie Ferrell and Kat Hollingsworth each singled to account for all of Belmont's offense. Moon (7-12) suffered the loss for the Bruins after surrendering five runs on five hits despite recording just two outs in the first inning. Snodgress pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits in the process.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech softball team put together a sterling late-inning comeback to upend Eastern Kentucky, 3-2, in the finale of a three-game set at Tech Softball Field. With the win, the Golden Eagles (20-33, 12-12) capture the series with the Colonels (27-19, 14-8), while winning their eighth out of the last 10 to keep pace in the Ohio Valley Conference playoff picture.
Tech trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, mustering just one hit over the first four frames off EKU starting pitcher Leanna Pittsenbarger (19-9), who entered the game with a miniscule 1.15 era after blanking the Golden Eagles with a complete game, three-hit shutout in the series opener.
Sophomore Cortney Fry, who was responsible for the lone hit with a two-out double in the bottom of the second, led off the fifth with a walk to begin TTU's comeback bid. Fry would be lifted for red-shirt junior Christian Gibbs, who promptly stole second, before advancing to third on a one-out single by senior Kayla Floyd.
After a Floyd stolen base put runners on second and third with still just one down, junior Angi Sakamoto brought TTU within a run thanks to a single to center that plated Gibbs with the first Golden Eagle run of the game.
Pittsenbarger nearly escaped further trouble after striking out sophomore Madison Taylor for the second out of the inning, but a Hannah Eldridge two-out, two-strike double to left center scored both Floyd and Sakamoto to give Tech a 3-2 edge, a lead the Golden Eagles would not relinquish.
Freshman Danielle Liberatore (12-10) won her seventh consecutive OVC game, tossing a complete game, six-hitter, allowing only two walks and striking out seven for her 12th victory of the season. Liberatore wiggled out of a two-on, two-out jam in the top of the sixth, striking out senior Nicole Heitz to end the EKU scoring threat. Liberatore then tossed a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the Golden Eagle win.
Pittsenbarger was handed the loss, also going the distance, giving up three runs on five hits.
The Colonels jumped on the board in the top of the third, breaking a scoreless tie with a two-run home run by freshman Krislyn Campos.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Senior pitcher Kelcey McMurray allowed just one hit in 3.2 innings of relief to help the Morehead State softball team earn a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Tennessee State on Sunday at University Field.
The Eagles (14-30-1, 9-13), who were celebrating Senior Day for six members of the team, won their sixth Ohio Valley Conference contest in their last seven tries. Tennessee State (16-37, 4-19) dropped its 12th straight game. MSU is now 9-2 in contests decided by one run.
McMurray (1-3) retired 10 of the last 11 Tiger hitters. Senior pitcher Greta Smeins, who was making her first start of the season, allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 3.1 innings.
TSU scored both of its runs in the top of the first inning on back-to-back RBI doubles. The Eagles got on the board in the bottom of the second after sophomore first baseman Dana Hutchins, who smacked a one-out double, scored on sophomore Lizzy Margagliotti's seventh double of the season.
The Eagles scored two more runs in the bottom of the third, using an RBI double by sophomore right fielder Tressa Watson and what proved to be the game-winner on a sacrifice fly by senior designated player Jamie Massaro.
Hannah St. Clair (3-12) was one of three TSU pitchers to see action, as she surrendered three runs on six hits. Olivia Gamache allowed two hits in two innings, and Shea Morris struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth.