SATURDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 6, Monmouth 2
Western Carolina 4,
Belmont 1
Winthrip 10,
Belmont 8
Campbell 2,
Morehead State 1
Charleston Southern 6,
Jacksonville State 3
Cal 9,
Eastern Kentucky 2
Jacksonville State 7, Wright State 0
UNLV 3,
Eastern Kentucky 2
Indiana 10,
Austin Peay 7
Kennesaw State 8,
Austin Peay 7
Cleveland State 3,
Eastern Illinois 0
Eastern Illinois 6, Nothern Kentucky 5
UT Martin 9, UT Arlington 0 (5)
Texas Tech 13,
UT Martin 9
SIUE 5, Seton Hall 3
SIUE 4, North Florida 3
Tennessee State 12, Grambling 6
Mississippi Valley State 8,
Tennessee State 7
MOREHEAD STATE 6, MONMOUTH 2; CAMPBELL 2, MOREHEAD STATE 1
BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Freshman right-hander Mackenzie Grossmann allowed no earned runs and just one hit in complete-game victory to highlight the Morehead State softball team's split in the Hampton Inn Camel Stampede on Saturday at Littlejohn Stadium.
MSU posted a 6-2 win over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent Monmouth in the opener, but suffered a 2-1 setback to Big South Conference foe Campbell in game two. The Eagles move to 4-10 overall, while the Camels improve to 11-6 and Hawks fall to 0-1.
Grossmann yielded two unearned runs in the opener while walking four and striking out eight. The victory moved her season record to 2-3. Grossmann's complete-game, one-hitter was Morehead State's first in four seasons under Head Coach David Williams.
Sophomore shortstop Karly Thompson led Morehead State in the opener by going 3-for-4 with three RBI, while junior right fielder Tressa Watson launched her second home run of the campaign. The Eagles scored three times in the third and recorded 10 hits overall.
Sophomore left-hander Sydney Underhill, who allowed just one earned run in four innings, suffered the loss. She scattered six hits and allowed just one walk while fanning four.
Morehead State collected seven base knocks against Campbell, but only scored once. Junior first baseman Dana Hutchins and freshman catcher Robyn Leighton tallied two hits each.
Senior pinch hitter Camise Patterson clobbered a walk-off homer for Campbell in the bottom of the seventh. It was her second roundtripper in 14 contests this season.
Sophomore right-hander Katie Baker, who scattered seven hits and allowed just one unearned run, improved to 7-2 with the game-two victory. Sophomore right-hander Megan Tymorek, who yielded two runs and six hits in six frames, fell to 0-5 with the game-two loss.
Morehead State wraps up its four-game weekend on Sunday. The Eagles are slated to battle MAAC opponent Fairfield at 10 a.m. ET and Summit League foe IPFW around 3 p.m. For more, visit MSUEagles.com, Twitter.com/MSUAthletics or Facebook.com/MSUEagles
WESTERN CAROLINA 4, BELMONT 1; WINTRHOP 10, BELMONT 8
ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Belmont softball simply couldn't get over the hump Saturday afternoon in the team's first day of the 2015 Winthrop Invitational.
After dropping a 4-1 contest to Western Carolina to start the day, BU came up just short against host Winthrop as the Bruins' rally attempt was stymied with the Eagles prevailing, 10-8.
GAME 1: Western Carolina 4, Belmont 1
Western Carolina (5-8) used the power of the long ball to prevail over the Bruins in Belmont's opening contest of the weekend.
With the Catamounts holding a slight, 1-0, advantage off an RBI single in the second innning, WCU used back-to-back home runs in the third inning to take a 4-0 lead over the Bruins.
A lead off home run to center field by Jessica Wilson (Alvin, Tex.) to begin the fourth inning put BU on the board. The homer was Wilson's second of the season.
Wilson's shot proved to be the only offensive spark of the contest for the Bruins as Belmont was held to one hit the rest of the way at the plate as WCU prevailed, 4-1.
Belmont finished the contest with five hits from five different players.
GAME 2: Winthrop 10, Belmont 8
The Bruins' offense woke up in the following contest as Belmont was the first team to light up the scoreboard off an RBI single from Kayla Wells (Bonney Lake, Wash.) in the second inning.
Winthrop (9-10) responded in the third as the Eagles used three hits to punch in three runs as WU took a 3-1 advantage.
A two-RBI triple from WU's Paige Haley in the fourth inning added to the Eagles lead as the Bruins found themselves trailing, 6-1.
Belmont countered in the fifth as an RBI single from Chelsey Deloney (Gardendale, Ala.) followed by an RBI sacrifice groundout from Jordan Daly (Humble, Tex.) helped the Bruins close to within three, 6-3.
Down 7-3 heading into the sixth inning, BU's Kat Hollingsworth (Carrollton, Tex.) hit her first home run of the season on a three-run blast to left field as the Bruins scratched to within a single run, 7-6.
The homer proved to be Hollingsworth's 16th career blast as the senior outfielder moved into a tie for second place in the program's all time record book for career home runs.
The host Eagles once again had an answer as Winthrop knocked in three runs off a pair of hits in the bottom of the sixth as the Eagles extended its lead, 10-6, heading into the final inning of play.
With one out in seventh inning, a WU wild pitch helped punch in a pair of Bruin runs. Belmont's final rally of the game was stymied, however, as back-to-back BU hitters struck out swinging and Winthrop held on for the 10-8 victory.
Daly and freshman Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.) led the way offensively, both finishing 2-for-3 at the plate.
Belmont (5-9) returns to action tomorrow as the Bruins wrap up the Winthrop Invite with a 9 a.m. CT. rematch with Western Carolina followed by a 11 a.m. CT. contest with Furman.
Live stats will be available for both contests and fans are encouraged to follow in-game updates via Belmont's twitter page (@BelmontSoftball)
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 3; JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, WRIGHT STATE 0
CHARLESTON, S.C.- Senior Sara Borders capped a red-hot weekend with four more hits on Sunday and led the Jacksonville State softball team to a 7-0 win over Wright State before falling to Charleston Southern 6-3.
The Gamecocks (12-7) put the finishing touches on a 3-1 weekend in the Charleston Southern Tournament, one that saw Borders put p some impressive numbers.
The Alexandria, Ala., native went 8-for-13 (.615) over the four games and drove in nine runs. She homered three times and doubled once, while also drawing two walks. Her on-base percentage was .688 for the weekend, while she boasted a 1.385 slugging percentage.
Jax State's offense woke up for the trip to Charleston, where it hit .373 over four games. The Gamecock pitchers held its opponents to a .196 average and allowed just four earned runs in 27 innings of work.
In the early game against Wright State, Borders and Ella Denes seemed to mimic each other for a while. They hit back-to-back solo homers in the top of the first to put JSU up 2-0 and then had back-to-back RBI singles in the third to make it a 4-0 lead.
They each had singles in the fifth, as well, with Borders' driving in JSU's fifth run of the game. Whitney Gillespie finished it off with a two-run single to right that made it a 7-0 Gamecock lead in the fifth.
Borders and Denes would each finish the game 3-for-3 with a homer, while Borders drove in three and Denes two. Denes scored two runs and Borders crossed the plate once. Gillespie also had three hits in four at bats, also driving in two runs.
Gillespie (5-2) held the Raiders in check in the circle, too. The freshman from Pelham, Ala., held WSU hitless through 3.2 innings before allowing a pair of two-out hits in the fourth. Those would be the only two hits Wright State would muster against Gillespie, who struck out three and walked two in six innings of work. Sophomore Jordan Sims tossed a scoreless seventh to finish the game off.
Montana Wear (1-9) suffered the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in two innings for WSU. Ashley Sharp gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings of relief work.
The Gamecocks jumped on Charleston Southern in the second game of the day, pushing a run across after a Jamie McGuire single led to an error that allowed Taylor Sloan to score an put JSU up 1-0. They tacked on another in the second, when Savannah Sloan stole second and forced another error that allowed her to make it a 2-0 JSU lead.
Christian's first homer of the game, a three-run shot, capped a four-run third that gave CSU a 4-2 advantage. The Gamecocks got one back on a passed ball in the fifth, but Christian's two-run home run in the bottom of the inning made it 6-3.
Sophomore Logan Green (5-2) suffered the loss for JSU despite holding the Buccaneers to five hits through six innings. Cheyenne Gandara (9-4) earned the win, holding JSU to just three unearned runs on 12 hits in seven innings.
The Gamecocks are scheduled to face Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT before opening Ohio Valley Conference play at Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., next weekend.
UNLV 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team held a 2-1 lead over host UNLV midway through the game, but eventually fell to the Rebels on day two of the 2015 UNLV Rebel Classic, 3-2.
Freshman Sarah Jackson knocked in junior Kayla Joyce in the top of the fourth inning to give the Colonels (9-10) a 2-1 edge over the Rebels (12-10). UNLV evened the score in the bottom of the frame behind Alyssa Cordova’s RBI double.
EKU was able to get a runner in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seven innings, but could not push a third run across home plate. In the sixth, the Colonels loaded the bases with two outs only to see the threat end on a Sarah Fobbs line out to left field.
The Rebels notched in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth when Merina Ili lifted a solo home run to dead center field.
Senior pitcher Shaylon Robb (4-3) took the loss after scattering six hits and three earned runs over 5.2 innings.
Earlier in the day, the Colonels dropped a 9-2 decision to No. 16 California. The Golden Bears, who are 19-1 overall, jumped on top early with four runs in the first and two more in the second inning.
Freshman Johnkyria Alston registered a pair of doubles against Cal, including a two-run double in the fifth.
Eastern Kentucky wraps up action at the UNLV Rebel Classic tomorrow, March 8, against Iowa State. That game is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. ET.
INDIANA 10, AUSTIN PEAY 7; KENNESAW STATE 8, AUSTIN PEAY 2
KENNESAW, Ga. -Austin Peay State University played better on the second day of the Kennesaw State Owl Invitational, Saturday in Kennesaw, Ga., but still couldn’t come away with a victory in dropping a 10-7 decision to Indiana and an 8-2 final to Kennesaw State.
The Lady Govs (1-12) took advantage of three Indiana errors and two walks in the second inning to get out to a 5-0 lead, with Rikki Arkansas picking up a RBI on a bases-loaded walk and Chandler Groves driving in a run with a sacrifice fly.
But Indiana (4-16) answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning – highlighted by a three-run homer by Mena Fulton.
The Hoosiers would take the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning, by scoring three runs, and push their advantage to 9-5 with a single run in the fourth.
Austin Peay would cut into the deficit with solo home runs from Niya Sparks and Christiana Gable – in the fifth and sixth innings respectively – to make it 9-7.
But that would be as close as the Lady Govs would get, with Indiana adding on a final run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the 10-7 final.
Vinchenza DiBenedetto would lead the Lady Govs with two hits, both doubles, while Allie Blackwood had the other APSU hit.
In the nightcap, Austin Peay would see Kennesaw State (12-6) score in each of the first four innings to take an 8-0 lead.
The Lady Govs would score their two runs in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run homer by Laurel Burroughs, which also scored Courtney Brower – who had reached on an error.
Burroughs would lead the Lady Govs with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, while Sparks recorded her first triple of the year. DiBenedetto, Arkansas and Alexis Hill also had hits for Austin Peay.
CLEVELAND STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0; EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 5
CANTON, Ga. – Eastern Illinois softball earned a two-game split on Saturday (March 7), falling to Cleveland State, 3-0, but earning a walk-off, 6-5, victory over Northern Kentucky, as both contests were played down in Canton, Georgia.
The split moves the Panthers to 5-9 on the early-season as EIU will now play two Sunday games in the Kennesaw State Owl Invitational tomorrow against Indiana and the host Owls at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, in nearby Kennesaw.
Down 5-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers scored four straight runs to win in dramatic walk-off fashion, as Eastern connected on three doubles and a pair of singles for the victory.
Senior shortstop Bailey O'Dell hit a two-out, two-RBI single to left center which plated juniors Haylee Beck and Katie Watson to knot the score at five-all, while classmate Hannah Cole then drilled the game-winning RBI double to bring home newcomer Andrea Roberts for the victory.
NIU actually enjoyed an early 4-0 lead before O'Dell got the Panthers on the scoreboard with her third homer of the season, also scoring junior Kylie Bennett. O'Dell secured a four-RBI game off three hits.
Freshman Jessica Wireman earned the win as she came in relief in the sixth inning, striking out a trio of Norse batters and allowing just one earned run. The victory improved her season mark to 2-5 overall.
Team-wise, both squads registered eight hits as EIU stranded five base runners while NKU had four.
In the morning contest versus the Cleveland State, the Vikings ended the pitching duo with two scores via the long ball in the bottom of the fifth, before adding a security run in the sixth off an RBI single.
CSU just barely out-hit EIU, eight-to-six, in the win, as Wireman was tabbed for the loss for the Panthers yet ended up fanning five Viking batters, while the Viking's starter tallied eight strikeouts of her own.
Freshman catcher Andrea Roberts led all Panthers in the tough loss with a 3-for-3 plate performance and added a stolen base.
UT MARTIN 9, UT ARLINGTON 0; TEXAS TECH 13, UT MARTIN 9
ARLINGTON, Texas - LUBBOCK, Texas – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team reversed its results in Day Two of the Texas Tech Invitational. The day got off on the right foot by reversing yesterday’s short game while posting a dominant 9-0 victory over UT Arlington before falling short against Texas Tech 13-9 in an offensive onslaught.
The Skyhawks (9-8) scored 18 runs on the day while tallying 16 hits, notching five hits and blasting two home runs. The team hit .291 on the day while tallying 17 RBIs. The trio of Carly Gonzales, Kenzi Tate and Kayla Blanco led the team with three hits on the day while freshman Alicia Hansen paced the squad with four RBIs.
For as well as the offense packed a punch, the pitching core allowed 13 runs on the day despite shutting out UT Arlington in Game One. Brooke Kennedy (3-1) picked up the victory while tossing 6.2 innings on the day, including a five inning shutout.
UT Martin 9, UT Arlington 0 (Five innings)
Keeping with the theme of the last two contests against UT Arlington, Game One of today’s action saw the contest last just five innings. While that similarity was present, the Skyhawks flipped the script by run-ruling the Mavericks themselves.
Looking to strike first, the Skyhawks led off the inning with a double to left from Gonzales. Following back-to-back outs, senior Lauren Smith would notch her 27th career home run, moving into a tie for third place on the program’s record book.
UT Martin would strike again in the third inning, beginning a trend of scoring in odd innings. Gonzales led off the inning with a walk before advancing to third on an error. Tate would bring Gonzales around to score on a single to left field while Lauren Smith would notch her third RBI of the contest with a single to bring Savannah Dodson around, taking a 4-0 lead through three.
The Skyhawks would put the game out of reach in the top of the fifth. A leadoff single by Tate would result in the senior reaching third on the ensuing play following an error, placing runners on the corners. Tate would then come around to score off a fielding error, crediting Kelsey Dixon with an RBI. Another pair of two-run hits would cross the plate following liners by Blanco and Gonzales to end the scoring margin at 9-0.
Kennedy earned the start, allowing just one hit while striking out three in a five-inning shutout.
Texas Tech 13, UT Martin 9
UT Martin would look to pick up where they left off in the last two games going into a rematch of last night’s victory over Texas Tech. Looking to get off on the right foot, the Skyhawks burst out of the gates with four runs in the bottom of the first.
Back-to-back walks would put the duo of Gonzales and Duncan on base before eventually moving into scoring position as Lauren Smith drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases with just one out. With the bases juiced, Hansen would smash a grand slam over the right field wall, scoring the quartet and taking an early 4-0 advantage.
Another run would come across to score for the Skyhawks in the second inning after Kacie Daugherty drew a lead of walk before advancing into scoring position via a wild pitch. Daugherty would later come around to score off a RBI single to left field from Tate, holding a 5-0 lead through two innings.
The host Red Raiders began to find their stride in the top of the third, tying the game up with five runs in the frame. A leadoff walk would be followed by a double and two singles bringing their first two runs across the plate. A later triple off the bat of Kierra Miles would plate another pair of runs before the fifth and final run of the inning scored on a steal.
The host would tally three more runs in the top of the fourth after tallying four singles, including another two-run single from Miles to give Texas Tech an 8-5 advantage.
UT Martin looked to get back into the ballgame, scoring another four unanswered runs in the fourth and five innings. Jodie Duncan would double to left field before having pinch runner Lindsey Feigl come around to score on batter later off a fielding error, bringing the contest to an 8-6 margin.
The Skyhawks got the bottom of the fifth started as Dixon reached base once again. Renate Meckl then tallied an infield hit of her own, putting runners on first and second with one out. Following a fielder’s choice, back-to-back base hits by Gonzales and Duncan would bring three runners across the plate, taking a 9-8 lead through five.
Texas Tech would quickly see Miles notch her fourth RBI of the contest with a double through the left side in the top of the sixth, knotting the game at nine runs each.
With much dismay to the Skyhawks, the Red Raiders would tally four unanswered runs en route to a 13-9 victory.
Five players saw action for the Skyhawks inside the circle. Tate earned the start, tossing 2.1 innings of work while giving up six hits and five earned runs. Kennedy, Wiegand, Vincent (1-2) and Jones each appeared in relief, combining to allow eight runs in the final 4.2 innings.
UT Martin will cap off its stay in the Texas Tech Invitational on Sunday, March 8 when the Skyhawks take on Utah Valley at 10 a.m.
SIUE 5, SETON HALL 3, SIUE 4, NORTH FLORIDA 3
TAMPA, Fla. –the SIUE softball team won a pair of games Saturday at the USF Under Armour Challenge, defeating Seton Hall and North Florida. The latter was a 12-inning game.
SIUE improved to 13-4 and ran its winning streak to four games. The Cougars defeated Seton Hall 5-3 and North Florida 4-3.
The Cougars came from behind in game one of the day against Seton Hall. SIUE collected five hits in the top of the seventh and scored four runs to take the two-run lead.
Alexis Kohrs went the distance and struck out five for SIUE. She improved her season record to 2-1 while scattering seven hits.
SIUE outhit the Pirates 9-7, including two hits each from Brittany Toney and Amy Hunt. Rebecca Gray, Jordan LaFave, and Haley Chambers provided the RBIs in the seventh inning.
In game two, Chambers went 11 1/3 innings for the victory. She struck out a career-high 15 batters.
SIUE and North Florida exchanged single runs in the eighth, 10th, and 11th innings in what had been a pitcher's duel between Chambers and UNF starter Kaylie Wallace.
With the game tied for a third time, the Cougars went back to work in the top of the 12th inning. Whitney Lanphier, who returned from a torn ACL to pick up her first hit of the season earlier in the game, went to second base because of the international tiebreaker rule. Haley Adrian dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt to move over Lanphier. LaFave picked up the eventual game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly to right field.
North Florida made a similar move by advancing its tiebreaker runner to third on a sacrifice bunt. Chambers then hit the next batter to put runners at the corners.
Montgomery went to her bullpen for Baylee Douglass, who picked up a strikeout and a pop out to end the game. It was the fourth save of the year for Douglass, who after 17 games into her collegiate career is tied for eighth all-time in saves.
Sunday's schedule was updated due to all of the rain that held up play Friday. SIUE now will play two games with an 8 a.m. CT game against Georgetown and a 10:15 a.m. CT contest against Bowling Green.