SUNDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 1, @Morehead State 0
SIUE 10, @Morehead State 3
@Murray State 10, Tennessee State 1 (5)
@Murray State 9, Tennessee State 1 (5)
@Eastern Kentucky 4, Eastern Illinois 0
@Eastern Kentucky 10, Eastern Illinois 1 (5)
@Tennessee Tech 2, UT Martin 1
UT Martin 8, @Tennessee Tech 0 (6)
@Belmont 8, Austin Peay 4
@Belmont 3, Austin Peay 2
EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0; EASTERN KENTUCKY 10, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team returned to the win column in emphatic fashion Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep over OVC foe Eastern Illinois. The Colonels won by scores of 4-0 and 10-1.
EKU (13-16, 4-2 OVC) had lost four straight entering Sunday’s games, but senior pitcher Shaylon Robb put an end to that streak. The righty tossed her first career complete-game shutout in game one’s 4-0 final. Robb (6-5) struck out six Panthers (7-14, 2-3) and scattered three hits over seven innings. At one point, the native of Martin, Tennessee retired 15 consecutive EIU batters.
Freshman Sarah Jackson broke the scoreless tie with a two-out, two-run single in the third inning. Senior Katie Tackett followed with an RBI single to center to put the Colonels ahead, 3-0.
Eastern Kentucky added one more run in the fifth before Robb wriggled out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh to secure the win.
In game two, the Colonels hit four home runs on the way to a 10-1 triumph. Jackson hit a pair of two-run homers in the blowout, one in the first inning and another in the fourth. The freshman from Cypress, California leads the team with six long balls this spring.
Tackett and fellow senior Darcy Schueler also hit round-trippers. Schueler tallied her home run as part of the five-run first inning while Tackett went back-to-back with Jackson in the fourth inning.
Junior pitcher Hayley Flynn (2-4) picked up the win thanks to tossing the first 4.1 innings.
SIUE 1, MOREHEAD STATE 0; SIUE 10, MOREHEAD STATE 3
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Haley Chambers fanned 20 batters Sunday and became the first player in school history to throw two career perfect games as SIUE softball swept past Morehead State.
SIUE won the game 1-0 and extended its winning streak to six games with a 10-3 victory in the nightcap. The Cougars improved to 23-6 overall and 6-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Morehead State is now 8-12 overall and 0-2 in the OVC.
It was the fourth no-hitter overall for the junior from Coatesville, Indiana, all of which have been against OVC schools. Chambers threw a perfect game against Jacksonville State as a freshman and no-hitters against Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri last season.
The perfect game was the sixth in school history and the 32nd overall no-hitter.
Chambers, 13-3, need 87 pitches for the win. She recorded 17 consecutive strikeouts to start the game. The only non-strikeout was a fly ball to Brittany Toney in right field from Morehead State's No. 9 hitter. It was the most strikeouts by Chambers in her collegiate career. She noted her career best was 27 in an extra-inning game before her collegiate days.
It was the first perfect game caught by SIUE catcher Tess Eby.
The Cougars, however, didn't give Chambers much of a cushion, scoring the game's only run in the first inning. Rebecca Gray singled to center field and stole second. She moved to third on a single by Allison Smiley and scored on an infield out by Rachel Keller.
Morehead State pitcher Mackenzie Grossman allowed five hits to the Cougars and took the loss. She is now 4-4.
Knowing how tight the game was even with Chambers throwing a no-hitter, the Cougars remained focused.
After a thrilling game one, the Cougars had to step up for a second contest. Baylee Douglass threw six innings and gave up one unearned run for her ninth win of the season. Morehead State managed just two hits total for the day.
Douglas struck out six Morehead State batters.
SIUE's offense had a couple of chances early in game two but used a pair of five-run innings in the fourth and fifth to overpower the Eagles.
Eby's home run, actually, was a grand slam and the second home run in as many days for the freshman catcher.
LaFave followed with a solo home run, her third round-tripper of the season. She is now one RBI behind Smiley for the team lead in RBIs. Smiley has 22 to LaFave's 21.
The Cougars scored five more runs in the fifth inning. Smiley, Toney, Whitney Lanphier, and LaFave each had RBIs in the inning.
MURRAY STATE 10, TENNESSEE STATE 1; MURRAY STATE 9, TENNESSEE STATE 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State softball team pounded out 19 runs on 19 hits Sunday when in swept Tennessee State in a doubleheader, 10-1 and 9-1, both in five innings, at Racer Field in Murray.
Murray State (16-10, 4-3 OVC) was led in game one by Jessica Twaddle who was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base. She finished the opener a triple shy of the cycle, as she belted a single, a double and a home run in the game.
Mo Ramsey went 2-for-3 in the game with two runs, while Maggie Glass was also 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a double. Jocelynn Rodgers accounted for the other MSU home run in the contest, as she was 1-for-2 with a run, three RBIs and a sacrifice fly.
In the circle, CheyAnne Gaskey registered her second consecutive complete game win by allowing just one run on two hits over five complete innings. The win improves Gaskey’s record to 7-5 on the season.
Taylor Odom steeped up for the Racers in game two and went a perfect 3-for-3 with a run, a double and three RBIs. Paired with her 1-for-1 with a walk performance in game one, Odom finished the day as the only Racer to be perfect at the plate. Twaddle followed up her perfect performance earlier in the day, by going 1-for-2 with a run and a walk in game two.
Haven Campbell not only got the first start of her collegiate career in game two, but picked up the win as well, to move to 1-1 on the season. The freshman allowed just one run on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks over a five-inning complete game.
TENNESSEE TECH 2, UT MARTIN 1; UT MARTIN 8, TENNESSEE TECH 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team battled tough against Tennessee Tech by a score of 2-1 before cracking out the bats in the second half of the Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader to pick up the 8-0 victory in six innings.
The Skyhawks (13-13, 2-4 OVC) scored nine runs on the day while tallying 11 base hits. Alicia Hansen and Carly Gonzales led the team with a pair of base hits while Hansen notched the team’s lone home run with a pair of RBIs.
Elizabeth Wiegand improved to 6-5 on the season while notching her seventh complete game and second shutout of the season. Wiegand allowed just two base hits while striking out a pair. Kenzi Tate started in the opener, allowing two runs in six innings of work.
Game One: Tennessee Tech 2, UT Martin 1
The Skyhawks would get on the board first in the contest as Hansen tallied the team’s lone run in the top of the second inning. Hansen would get the Skyhawks in the scoring column with a leadoff home run to center, taking a 1-0 lead.
Tennessee Tech would take its first and eventual game winning lead in the bottom of the fourth. Following an innocent groundout, Olivia Bennett would single through the left side, putting a runner on base. Alyssa Richards would bring Bennett around to score with a game-winning home run to center, picking up the 2-1 victory.
Game Two: UT Martin 8, Tennessee Tech 0 (Six innings)
After scoring just one run in the front end of the doubleheader, the Skyhawks would bust out of the gate with three runs in the top of the first. The Skyhawks would place runners on first and second following a pair of errors and a walk to Kacie Daugherty and Samantha McClure. With the bases loaded, a run would come around to score on a walk by Kelsey Dixon. The following runs would score off a single by Jodie Duncan and a steal of home by Gonzales.
UT Martin would add another trio of runs to the board in the top of the third after a leadoff single to Dixon and as Duncan was hit by a pitch. Savannah Dodson would tally her lone RBI of the day with a bunt single, bringing Dixon in from third while pinch runner Chelsey Smith stole home for the team’s fifth run of the contest. The scoring inning would be capped off following a pitching change as McClure doubled to center, scoring Dodson on the play to give the Skyhawks a 6-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks would put the contest away in the top of the sixth as the trio of Gonzales, Tate and Hansen strung together back-to-back-to-back doubles into the gap to bring a pair of runs in to score, leading to a run shortened victory at 8-0 after six.
UT Martin will return to action on Wednesday, March 25 with a doubleheader trip to Middle Tennessee. Action from Murfreesboro is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m.
BELMONT 8, AUSTIN PEAY 4; BELMONT 3, AUSTIN PEAY 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont softball used tremendous efforts from a pair of relatively new faces in order to record the sweep of Austin Peay (3-17, 2-5 OVC) Sunday afternoon.
The Bruins prevailed 8-4 in the first game of the doubleheader and rallied to edge the Lady Govs, 3-2, in the nightcap at Rose Park.
GAME 1: Belmont 8, Austin Peay 4
The Bruins jumped out early against the Lady Govs in the first contest of the day as an RBI double to right center field from Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.) in the second and a RBI infield single by Jordan Daly (Humble, Tex.) in the third put the Bruins on the board, 2-0.
Austin Peay dented the scoreboard for the first time of the game off a sacrifice fly from sophomore Allie Blackwood in the fourth inning.
The Bruins quickly countered in the home half of the fourth as BU used an RBI single from Kirbie Ferrell (Pasadena, Tex.), an APSU error and an RBI double from Kat Hollingsworth (Carrollton, Tex.) to notch three runs as Belmont took a comfortable, 5-1, advantage.
Austin Peay added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning after sophomore Christiana Gable hit a two-RBI double to left center field but the Bruins quickly answered with a two-RBI double of their own in the home half of the fifth when freshman Ally Bessette (Bryan, Tex.) drove in sophomores Amy Zeronian (Pasadena, Calif.) and Chelsey Deloney (Gardendale, Ala.) on a shot to centerfield.
With the Bruins leading 7-3, Deloney used a shot down the left field line in the sixth inning as the sophomore catcher drove in senior Amanda Criscione (Upland, Calif.) from second base.
APSU added another run to their total in the top of the seventh and back-to-back hits followed as the Lady Govs tried to rally in order to extend the game. With two outs, a walk loaded the bases for the visitors with the tying run coming to the plate.
The Bruins held on for an 8-4 victory, however, after Andree produced the final out of the game.
Belmont produced 13 hits on the contest, led by Deloney's 3-for-4 effort. Bessette and Andree both finished a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate as the rookies drove in three of the Bruins eight runs.
BU's Carolyn Snodgress (Torrance, Calif.) picked up her third win of the season as the junior threw a complete game for the Bruins, allowing three earned runs while tossing four strikeouts.
GAME 2: Belmont 3, Austin Peay 2
The Bruins dug themselves a hole in the second game of the doubleheader as Austin Peay used RBI singles to right field and center field respectively in order to tally a pair of runs in the top of the second inning.
Belmont answered in the home half of the fourth inning as freshmen Jess Andree and Ally Bessette hit back-to-back RBI doubles to center field as the Bruins quickly reclaimed the lead, 3-2.
Those three runs were all the Bruins needed in order to record the sweep of the Lady Govs on the day as junior right hander Taylor Moon (Vestavia, Ala.) relieved starting pitcher Katie Clancy (Pasadena, Calif.) in the fourth and promptly threw four scoreless innings, giving up a pair of hits and a walk with two strikeouts as BU held captured their third consecutive win with a 3-2 victory.
Hollingsworth recorded two of Belmont's five hits on the contest. Her leadoff double to centerfield in the fourth inning was her team-leading seventh of the season.
On the day, Bessette finished 3-for 4 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI while Andree finished 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. The duo accounted for six of BU's 11 runs scored.
Belmont (8-17, 3-3 OVC) returns to action next weekend as the Bruins hit the road for a three-game divisional series with Tennessee Tech.