SATURDAY'S SCORES
UConn 2,
SIUE 1
SIUE 10, Texas State 2(6)
Marshall 9,
Tennessee State 1
UT Martin 6, @Southeastern Louisiana 0
Southeast Missouri 10, @Southeastern Louisiana 8
Saint Louis 8,
Southeast Missouri 7
Arkansas 8,
UT Martin 7
UCONN 2, SIUE 1; SIUE 10, TEXAS STATE 2
AUBURN, Ala. - SIUE softball collected double-digit runs for the third time this spring with a 10-2, six-inning victory over Texas State at the Wilson/DeMarini Classic.
The Cougars are now 8-3 overall after Friday's win. SIUE also lost to UConn 2-1 in its opening game of the tournament.
In her first career start, Baylee Douglass earned the complete-game victory against Texas State. Douglass allowed four hits over six innings for her second win of the season.
Douglass had three strikeouts but mixed up the Bobcats with eight fly outs and seven ground outs.
Texas State entered the game with 25 home runs and hit two against the Cougars, both solo homers.
The Cougars took advantage of Texas State mistakes in the first inning for a five-run lead to start the game.
Haley Chambers was hit by the fourth pitch of the game by Texas State starter Taylor Webb. After Haley Adrian moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt, Allison Smiley picked up her team-leading 11th RBI of the season with a single to left field.
An infield error by Texas State would aid the Cougars in scoring four more runs, including a two-run single by Kelsey Hansen and an RBI single by Rebecca Gray.
SIUE added a sixth run in the second inning when Rachel Keller doubled home Smiley, who had a two-out single.
After Texas State cut into the lead in the fourth, SIUE roared back with four runs in the sixth. Adrian's second home run of the season highlighted the inning along with an RBI single by Alex McDavid that invoked the eight-run rule.
In the UConn game, the Huskies scratched out a pair of runs with single tallies in the second and fifth innings. SIUE's offense was held to three hits, including two by Jordan LaFave.
SIUE scored its lone run on the game in the first inning. LaFave singled, stole second, and moved to third after Smiley and Keller both were walked. LaFave scored on an illegal pitch.
Chambers struck out 12 for the Cougars and scattered eight hits. Her record fell to 5-1 for the season.
SIUE has two more games on the schedule Saturday in the Wilson/DeMarini Classic. The Cougars take on Samford at 2:30 p.m. as well as host and No. 16-ranked Auburn at 5 p.m.
MARSHALL 9, TENNESSEE STATE 1
COLUMBIA, S.C. - – Tennessee State dropped the opening game of the Carolina Classic on Friday afternoon. The Tigers lost a 9-1 five inning ballgame to Marshall and fell to 3-5 on the season. The win propels the Thundering Herd to 12-3.
Starting pitcher Taylor Green held early, but Marshall chipped away at the junior pitcher with a run in the second and two in the third, before touching home plate four times in the fourth. Green was saddled with the first loss of her career at TSU and is now 3-1.
Marshall starter Jordan Dixon improved to 11-3 as she was able to silence the Tiger offense for the first four innings. Courtney Gearlds opened the game with a leadoff single, but was cut down trying to steal second two pitches later. Lauren Dreitlein picked up just the second hit off Dixon with a fourth inning double to the wall in right field.
Dixon would leave the game after issuing back-to-back walks to Tayler Shimizu and pinch hitter Chelsea Buchanan in the fifth. Brittanie Fowler entered for the Herd and was met with a single up the middle off the bat of Danica Gleason to load the bases with no outs.
The first true threat by the Tigers ran into an obstacle as Gearlds hit a line drive up the middle that was caught by second baseman Elicia D’Orazio. The middle infielder was able to tag a diving Buchanan just before she could reach the bag.
Kailey Richard followed with what appeared to be a two-run double down the left field line to cut the score to 7-2. Marshall appealed Gleason had missed second base and the call was granted to credit Richard with a single and Shimizu as the lone run for the Tigers.
The Herd added two runs in the bottom of the fifth giving them a 9-1 victory over TSU.
The Tigers will play a pair of games on day two of the three day classic. TSU opens the day squaring off with No. 24 South Alabama at 10:00am ET. The day will close with a contest with Charleston Southern at 5:30pm. Both games can be heard on tsutigers.com.
UT MARTIN 6, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 0; ARKANSAS 8, UT MARTIN 7
HAMMOND, La. - – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team nearly completed a sweep of Day One of the Lion Classic Scramble hosted by Southeastern Louisiana on Friday. The Skyhawks will split the day with a 6-0 victory over the tournament host before falling 8-7 against Arkansas in extra innings.
The Skyhawks (6-5) outhit their opponents by a rate of 19 to 11 on the day due in large part to the offensive outburst of senior Kenzi Tate and sophomore Carly Gonzales. Tate tallied four hits on the day while nearly completely the daily cycle with a pair of singles, a double and a triple to go with four RBIs. Gonzales tallied four hits on the day while notching two RBIs as well.
Outside of a single outlier, the Skyhawk pitching staff produced a solid opening day inside the circle. Elizabeth Wiegand (3-2) picked up the victory over Southeast Louisiana, tossing a shutout while striking out three batters. Casey Vincent started against Arkansas, finishing one-third of an inning before being relieved. Sophomore Brooke Kennedy (2-1) produced a solid outing, tossing seven innings while allowing just one earned run in relief.
UT Martin 6, Southeastern Louisiana 0
The Skyhawks came out of the game having no hangover from a 13-day hiatus as they looked to strike early in the contest. Gonzales would led off the inning with a single to center before advancing to second on a wild pitch during the following sequence. Her time on base would be minimal as Tate - the No. 3 hitter - pounded a double to right center to bring Gonzales around to score for an early 1-0 lead.
The visitors would look to add on to their early margin in the top of the second inning. The smart base running of McClure would pay off for the senior after reaching base following a walk. Once reaching base, she quickly moved into scoring position by stealing second before advancing to third on a passed ball. Keeping with the theme of the inning, McClure would wind up coming around to score following an RBI groundout off the bat of Gonzales.
UT Martin would tally the knockout punch in the top of the third inning, scoring three runs. Tate would notch her second hit of the game with a triple down the right field line. After being pulled for a pinch runner in Chelsey Smith, Vincent would bring the freshman home on an RBI groundout. Three consecutive walks and a trio of stolen bases by Alicia Hansen, Renate Meckl and Kelsey Dixon would result in the final two runs of the inning on an error later in the frame.
With the game out of reach, the Skyhawks would tally one final run in the top of the sixth inning. Much like the first inning, Gonzales would lead off the inning with a single up the middle. She would eventually come around to score following a stolen base and an RBI single to left field from Tate, giving the Skyhawks the eventual winning score of 6-0.
Countering the offensive attack of the host Lions was the play of Wiegand. Wiegand (3-2) notched her team-leading fourth complete game and first shutout of the season – the fourth of her career. She tallied three strikeouts on the afternoon while allowing eight base hits and zero walks.
Arkansas 8, UT Martin 7 (Eight innings)
Game Two of the day saw a bumpy start put the Skyhawks in an early hole. After placing the first two batters of the bottom of the first on base via a walk and a hit by pitch, Arkansas got on the board behind a three run home run from Stephanie Canfield to give the Razorbacks an early 3-0 lead. The rough start would get worse for Vincent as she left the game following another single and a free pass with just one out.
With the starter out of the game, the Skyhawks called upon Kennedy to attempt to put out the fire. Kennedy would allow a single to right field before tallying the second out of the inning. Arkansas would get on the board once again off a passed ball before a bases loaded walk brought across the fifth run of the first.
Facing a 5-0 deficit after just the first inning, the Skyhawks would look to get right back in the contest in the top of the second. The first four batters of the second would all reach base as a pair of walks, an error and a hit by pitch brought the Skyhawks first run across the plate. With that, Arkansas would make a quick change inside the circle, relieving Allison Stewart of her duties and turning the ball over to Haley Meinen.
Much like the play of the Razorbacks in the bottom of the first, the Skyhawks would capitalize on the free bases and new pitcher by placing another three runs on the board. Gonzales would reach off a fielder’s choice to bring the second run home before an RBI single by Duncan scored Kayla Blanco from third. Tate would notch her third RBI of the day to cap off the inning with a single up the middle to bring home Gonzales and cut the margin to 5-4.
The Skyhawks would complete their comeback attempt in the top of the third inning. Meckl would draw a leadoff walk before moving into scoring position on a single up the middle from Dixon. Meckl would later come around to score in the inning off an RBI groundout, tying the game at five runs apiece.
Arkansas would look to quickly get back in control of the contest in the bottom half of the third. The Razorbacks would connect for their second home run of the game with a solo bomb from Rachel Box to right field, retaking the 6-5 lead.
The comeback Skyhawks would answer in the top of the sixth inning as Gonzales got the inning started with a double to left center. The centerfielder would come around to score the game’s tying run two batters later following a pair of successful sacrifices from Duncan and Tate.
With the game going to extra innings and the tournament international tie-breaker rules in action, the top of the seventh inning would see Blanco placed on second with no outs to start the inning before being pulled for pinch runner Savannah Dodson. A sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of McClure would bring Dodson around to score, taking a 7-6 lead into the bottom half of the inning.
Arkansas would look to respond in the bottom half of the inning with its backs against the wall. A successful sacrifice bunt would move the Razorbacks’ potential game-tying run over to third base with just one out. Devon Wallace would bring the runner around to score, tying the game with a RBI single up the middle. Wallace’s time on base would be limited however, coming around to score on the game-winning run off a double to left field – clinching the Razorbacks’ 8-7 victory.
Vincent tossed just one-third of an inning, allowing five earned runs on two hits and a pair of walks. Kennedy (2-1) appeared in relief, tossing seven innings while surrendering nine bases hits and allowing just one earned run.
UT Martin will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 28 when taking on Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri in a non-conference matchup. Action between the Skyhawks and Redhawks are scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 8; SAINT LOUIS 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7
HAMMOND, La. - Southeast Missouri (3-3) registered a season-high 18 hits and withstood a late rally to beat Southeastern Louisiana (4-9), 10-8, Friday afternoon in the opening day of the Lion Classic Scramble.
Southeast's 18 hits were the Redhawks most in a game since getting 24 at IUPUI on Mar. 11, 2006.
The Redhawks got on the board first when a sacrifice fly by Lindsey Patterson scored Taylor McDannold in the bottom of the first.
Claire Wernig and Leah Duffe each delivered RBI-singles to push across two more runs in the third.
Taylor McDannold and Kayla Fortner added run-scoring singles to tack on another two tallies, extending Southeast's lead to 5-2 in the fourth.
An inning later, Southeast widened its lead with five runs on six hits in the fifth.
Three-straight doubles by India Davis, McDannold and Alexis Anderson produced the Redhawks runs. Davis knocked in both Darby Pruett and Savannah Carpenter before McDannold drove home Davis and Duffe. McDannold touched home on Anderson's double, pushing Southeast's lead to 10-3.
SLU did not go down quietly during its final at-bat in the seventh.
The Lions had the bases loaded when Sydney McCullough singled to score Katie Lacour. Sloan Jenkins followed with a single and both Sydney Booker and Kinsey Nichols scored. After McCullough touched home on a passed ball, Teresa Lemos knocked in Peyton Stokes-Sutton on a base hit, cutting the Redhawks lead to 10-8.
Aubrey Denno relieved Madeline Krumrey and forced Nichols to fly out to end the game. Denno picked up her first career save.
Krumrey (1-1) earned her first career win after striking out three in 6.2 innings. She also allowed eight runs on 13 hits.
Nicole Ayala (2-2) suffered the loss. Ayala gave up eight runs on 13 hits, while striking out three and walking one in 6.2 innings.
McDannold and Anderson led Southeast at the plate.
McDannold went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, a double and three RBI, while Anderson went 3-for-5 with a double and RBI.
Carpenter, Duffe and Davis had two hits each, as well.
Lacour went 3-of-4 with a run scored to lead SLU.
Hailey Weavers hit a three-run walkoff home run to give regional-rival Saint Louis (5-5) an 8-7 come-from-behind win over Southeast Missouri (3-4) Friday night at the Lion Classic Scramble.
SLU trailed 7-5 going into the bottom of the seventh inning when Lindsay Friedman drew a leadoff walk. Alyssa Tarqinio quickly moved Friedman to third on an ensuing double down the left field line. Weavers pinch-hit for Madeline Brungardt and delivered her game-winning home run over the wall in left center.
Southeast fell behind, 4-2, before putting up four runs to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning.
Alexis Anderson singled up the middle and went to second when Kayla Fortner walked. Lindsey Patterson followed with a triple, allowing both Anderson and Fortner to score. Patterson later scored on a fielder's choice and Shelby Eccles scored on a wild pitch to give the Redhawks a 6-4 advantage.
SLU answered with a run in the sixth, but Southeast scored again to take a two-run lead in the top of the seventh.
Chelsea Smith knocked in Kayla Fortner on a one-out single to center, giving Southeast a 7-5 cushion.
Aubrey Denno (0-1) suffered her first loss of the season in relief. Denno gave up four runs on five hits, while striking out two and walking three in four innings.
Laney Knieb (2-0) was credited with the win out of the Billikens bullpen. Knieb allowed three hits and a run in three innings.
Fortner, Patterson and Smith finished with two hits each to lead Southeast.
Fortner was 2-for-2 with three runs scored, a home run and one RBI. The homer marked Fortner's team-high fifth this season.
Patterson went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI, and Smith finished at 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Southeast resumes action at the Lion Classic Scramble against UT Martin Saturday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., CT.