SUNDAY'S SCORES
Utah Valley 10,
UT Martin 8
SIUE 8, Georgetown 2
SIUE 3, Bowling Green 0
Tennessee Tech 8, Radford 2
East Tennessee State 5,
Tennessee Tech 5
Morehead State 5, Fairfield 4
Western Carolina 6,
Belmont 5
Furman 6,
Belmont 0
Morehead State 4, IPFW 3
Iowa State 8,
Eastern Kentucky 7
Tennessee State 8, Alabama State 4
Tennessee State 11, Alabama A&M 10
UTAH VALLEY 10, UT MARTIN 8
LUBBOCK, Texas - Runs have been aplenty this weekend for the University of Tennessee at Martin softball team, scoring 32 runs in the five game tournament field at the Texas Tech Invitational. Despite scoring eight runs, the Skyhawks would fall on the final day of the tournament field, dropping a 10-8 decision to Utah Valley.
The Skyhawks (9-9) tallied seven hits while notching eight runs in the contest behind the hot play of freshman Alicia Hansen once again. Hansen posted a 2-for-3 day while tallying a home run and a pair of RBIs. Sophomore Carly Gonzales also tallied two RBIs while Kelsey Dixon, Renate Meckl and Samantha McClure each drove in a run of their own.
Three pitchers saw action for the Skyhawks while sophomore Elizabeth Wiegand (4-4) earned the start and the decision after allowing six runs on five hits in two innings of work. Brooke Kennedy and Casey Vincent also tossed a pair of innings each while combining to allow nine hits and two earned runs.
Utah Valley would strike first in the contest, taking an early three run lead in the bottom of the first inning. A pair of walks would come around to score off an RBI double to left center while the ensuing hitter’s single to center field would bring another pair of runs across the plate.
UT Martin then answered with a pair of runs of their own in the top of the second inning, trimming the deficit to just one run. Lauren Smith would reach base off an error before being pulled for pinch runner Chelsey Smith. The freshman speedster would quickly move into scoring position before advancing to third on a wild pitch with one out. Dixon would lace a single through the left side to bring the squad’s first run home. Following a double from Kayla Blanco, Dixon would come around to score off another infield error.
The top of the third inning would see the Skyhawks tie the game up at three runs each. Kenzi Tate would lace a one-out single up the middle before swiping second to move into scoring position. Tate’s time on base later ended following a RBI triple to center from Hansen, knotting the game at three.
The tie would prove to be short lived in the bottom half of the inning. The Wolverines would lead off the inning with a solo home run from Brianna Gatlin to break the tie. Following a double down the left field line, Utah Valley would strike again with a two-run blast to left center from Brittney Vansway. Two more runs would follow in the inning, giving the Wolverines an 8-3 lead through three innings.
Utah Valley would stretch its lead out to seven, scoring a run in both the fourth and fifth innings. With the insurance runs, the Wolverines would hold a 10-3 lead through five innings.
The Skyhawks would look to push themselves back into the game in the top of the sixth. Blanco would get the inning started after reaching first following a hit by pitch before being pulled for pinch runner Savannah Dodson. A walk to Renate Meckl and an RBI double down the left field line would bring Dodson around to score. Meckl and McClure would then score following another double down the left field line from Gonzales before ultimately scoring on a passed pass to cut the margin to 10-7.
Trailing by three heading into the top of the seventh, the Skyhawks would find get as close as two runs as Hansen tallied her second RBI with a home run to deep center, bring the score to its final resting place at 10-8.
UT Martin will return to action on Wednesday, March 11 when the Skyhawks host Northern Kentucky in the team’s home opener. The contest will serve as a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
SIUE 8, GEORGETOWN 2; SIUE 3, BOWLING GREEN 0
TAMPA, Fla. - SIUE softball ran its winning streak to six games and finished the USF Under Armour Showcase a perfect 5-0 with a pair of wins Sunday.
The Cougars, 15-4, defeated Georgetown 8-2 in eight innings and blanked Bowling Green 3-0.
Jordan LaFave's game-tying home run in the top of the seventh led to SIUE's six-run eighth inning in game one as the Cougars defeated the Hoyas. Allison Smiley's three-run triple highlighted the big inning for the Cougars.
Baylee Douglass picked up the pitching victory for the Cougars, which won its second straight extra-inning game.
Good pitching is allowing the Cougar hitters an opportunity to make adjustments and score runs late, Montgomery added.
Haley Chambers came in and tossed her third shutout of the season against Bowling Green. Chambers said the extra-inning win against Georgetown propelled her.
Chambers struck out 11 and allowed two hits against the Falcons, 5-8.
Whitney Lanphier, who collected her first hit of the season yesterday after coming back from a preseason injury, belted her first home run of the season in the second inning against Bowling Green.
The Florida trip continues with two games Tuesday in Ft. Myers, Fla. SIUE battles Pittsburgh at 1:30 p.m. CT followed by a 6 p.m. CT contest against Florida Gulf Coast.
TENNESSEE TECH 8, RADFORD 2; EAST TENNESSEE STATE 5, TENNESSEE TECH 4
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech softball team wrapped up its final non-conference tournament Sunday afternoon, splitting its pair of matchups at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State.
Behind a season-high 14 hits, the Golden Eagles (11-10) rolled in the first game with an 8-2 win over Radford (3-11) to make it five straight victories, but couldn't make it a clean sweep after the host Buccaneers (8-7) took the finale, 5-4.
Tech carried over the momentum from Saturday's pair of thrilling victories into Sunday's opener, coming out of the gates with a four-spot in the top of the first against Radford. Fresh off drilling the game-winning home run in Saturday's second tilt against ETSU, senior Angi Sakamoto began the offensive barrage with a leadoff single through the right side.
Senior Hannah Eldridge followed Sakamoto's knock with one of her own, and after a walk to junior Olivia Bennett the Golden Eagles were set up with the bases loaded and no one out. Two batters later after the Highlanders registered the first out of the inning, freshman Callen Griffin coaxed a bases loaded walk to give Tech their first run of the inning.
With the bases still chalk full of Golden Eagles and only one down, Radford sophomore Brittany Wratchford (1-1) recorded a second out in the inning to come within inches of getting out of the jam relatively unscathed, however Tech had other ideas.
A walk to Kelly Kennedy forced in a second run. An RBI single off the bat of freshman Gabby Perez brought around Bennett with the third run of the inning, and a Madison Taylor hit by pitch forced home Griffin to push the TTU lead to 4-0.
The strong start proved to be more than enough for sophomore Danielle Liberatore (6-5), as the 5-foot-10 southpaw notched her third consecutive win with another stellar showing from inside the circle. Liberatore stuck at double digits for the third time this season, whiffing 11 Highlanders as part of a complete-game victory that saw the Peotone, Ill. native allow just two runs.
The aforementioned Brittany Wratchford was handed the loss after the 5-foot-4 righty was unable to make it out of the second inning, surrendering four runs in the brief outing.
The Tech offense was far from being done after the four-run first inning outburst, as the Golden Eagles padded their lead with solo runs in the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh innings.
Olivia Bennett reached base four times in the contest thanks to three singles and a walk, scoring three runs as well. Sophomore Alyssa Richards reached base four times as well with two hits and two walks, while Hannah Eldridge remained hot with a combined five hits in the two games. The Fayetteville, Tenn. native has posted at least two hits in four of the last eight games.
Freshman Rachel Karlan joined the party as well, blasting her first career home run in the opener, a seventh inning shot that capped the TTU scoring.
Early offense was the story in Sunday's second contest with the host ETSU, as both teams traded four-run frames in the first three innings.
The Bucs struck first in the bottom of the second, using a Cassi Pickett two-run home run and a Nicole Fox two-run double to jump out to the early 4-0 advantage.
Tech wasted no time in putting its comeback shoes on, deadlocking the score an inning later with a four-spot of its own. Two of the first three Golden Eagles reached in the frame as Madison Taylor and Hannah Eldridge both singled to put runners on the corners with one down. Olivia Bennett then put Tech on the board with a run-scoring single through the left side to bring Taylor in to score, before Alyssa Richards tied up the game with a three-run home run, the Italy, Texas native's fourth of the year.
With the game squared away at 4-4, TTU called on freshman Taylor Waldrop (0-1) to begin the home half of the third. Coming off her first collegiate save on Saturday, the 5-foot-2 righty looked sharp in her second straight relief outing, limiting the Buccaneers to just one run over the game's final four innings.
That one run proved to be the game-winner for ETSU, with the Bucs touching up the dish in the last of the fourth behind a two-out RBI single from junior Bethany Cowart that brought around senior Latosha Rectenwald to give East Tennessee a 5-4 lead.
Tech threatened in the top of the seventh after putting runners on first and second with one out, but ETSU sophomore Taylor Carter (4-3) buckled down, retiring the final two Golden Eagles to push the Bucs to the finish line.
Carter earned her fourth win of the season after the Brazil, Ind. native went all seven innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits. TTU's Taylor Waldrop suffered the loss in relief after surrendering just one run in four innings.
The Golden Eagles will remain on the road, locking up with Georgia State for a doubleheader on Wednesday, Mar. 11. Game one is slated to begin at 2 p.m. CT.
WESTERN CAROLINA 6, BELMONT 5; FURMAN 6, BELMONT 0
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Belmont softball dropped a pair of contests Sunday afternoon in the final day of the 2015 Winthrop Tournament.
GAME 1: Western Carolina 6, Belmont 5 (9 innings)
Belmont opened the day with a renewed sense of focus in energy as the Bruins came out determined in a rematch with the Catamounts.
While WCU (7-9) used the long ball to defeat the Bruins, 4-1, Saturday morning, Belmont proved poised to reverse the script on Sunday.
After BU's Kayla Wells (Bonney Lake, Wash.) reached base with a single to shortstop in the bottom of the third, senior Kat Hollingsworth (Carrollton, Tex.) hit a two-run home run to put the Bruins up, 2-0.
The blast, the 17th of her career, placed Hollingsworth alone in second place in the program's record books for career home runs.
The Catamounts countered Belmont's shot with one their own as WCU's Taylor Sigmon led off the fifth inning with a solo blast to left center field as Western Carolina drew to within a single run.
With Belmont clinging to the slim advantage entering the bottom of the sixth inning, Jessica Wilson (Alvin, Tex.) gave the Bruins a little breathing room as the junior hit a solo shot to left field to give BU a 3-1 advantage heading into the seventh inning.
With their back firmly against the wall, WCU's bats came alive in a large way.
After being limited to just a single hit through the first six innings of play by starting BU pitcher Carolyn Snodgress (Torrance, Calif.), the Catamounts used a pair of singles to put two players on base with only a single out.
WCU's Crystal Cyr capatalized on the favorable situation as the junior smashed a three-run shot to left center field and the Catamounts instantly took the lead, 4-3.
Belmont responded to WCU's rally attempt in the home half of the seventh as the Bruins loaded the bases with just one out with freshman Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.) coming up to bat.
Andree displayed veteran poise in the tense situation as the rookie shortstop calmly walked in the game-tying run as the Bruins knotted the contest at 4.
BU failed to register the game-winning run, however, as WCU tallied two consecutive outs that forced the game into extra innings.
A Sigmon double to left center field scored WCU's Kassandra Flores as the Catamounts jumped out ahead, 5-4.
The Bruins answered in their half of the eighth inning when a single from freshman Ally Bessette (Bryan, Tex.) drove in Chelsey Deloney (Gardendale, Ala.), who was placed on base due to the International Tie Breaker rule .
With runners on second and third and only one out, the Bruins seemed poised to tally the game-winning run.
Western Carolina once again proved to be a tough out as the Catamounts escaped the jam unscathed after throwing Bessette out at home and grounding out Wells at first base.
With two outs in the top of the ninth and a runner sitting on third base, a WCU single to right field proved to be the game-winning run as the Bruins failed to counter, going three up, three down in the home half of the ninth.
Offensively, Hollingsworth led Belmont as the veteran outfielder finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk.
GAME 2: Furman 6, Belmont 0
Belmont ended the weekend with a match up against a tough Furman squad as the Paladins came into the contest with a 10-4 record on the season.
After a scoreless first inning, Furman's offense revved up in the second as the Palidins drove in four runs in large part due to a three-run shot to right center field by Taylor Jenkins.
Furman added a pair of runs in fifth inning and held Belmont's offense in check as a single to center field from Jess Andree proved to be the only hit on the contest for the Bruins.
In the circle, Furman's starting pitcher Elise Smith (1-0) earned her first victory on the year as the sophomore threw a complete game for the Paladins.
Belmont (5-11) returns to action Monday as the Bruins travel to Kennesaw, Georgia, for a single contest with Kennesaw State at 3 p.m. CT.
INDIANA 9, EASTERN ILLINOIS 8; KENNESAW STATE 6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
KENNESAW, Ga. - Eastern Illinois softball finished up early-season tournament play on Sunday (March 8), dropping games to Indiana and the host Kennesaw State squad by respective 9-8 and 6-4 scores.
The Panthers move to to 5-11 on the year and 1-3 over the course of the weekend, as EIU will now prepare for next weekend's three-game Ohio Valley Conference opening series at Austin Peay on Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15.
Senior shortstop Bailey O'Dell paced all EIU players over the weekend, hitting .467 off seven hits, which included three home runs, six RBIs, and 16 total bases. She also led her squad defensively with six assists.
Freshman Jessica Wireman finished with a 1-3 record in the circle as she retired 11 batters via strikes and allowed just four walks.
In the first game slug-fest with Indiana (5-17), the game featured several lead changes as each squad fired off 11 hits, including four home runs.
EIU's O'Dell led all players with a pair of solo bombs as she went 4-for-4 at the plate, while junior April Markowski and newcomer Andrea Roberts each tallied a double. Junior outfielder Jennette Isaac delivered a pair of hits and scampered for a stolen base.
Eastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame as Kylie Bennett's two-RBI shot up the middle plated O'Dell and Roberts. Markowski followed with her RBI double to score Bennett.
The Hoosiers would score twice in the bottom of the second, while EIU added another run off Isaac's RBI single to bring home O'Dell. But IU would erupt for four runs in their half of the third inning to lead 6-4.
But the Panthers added three runs over the fifth and sixth frames to retake the lead at 7-6, yet the Hoosiers would tie it in the bottom of the sixth. O'Dell's solo bomb over the right field fence once again gave the Panthers the lead with an 8-7 advantage, but a walk-off two-run homerun by the Hoosiers would give the IU the comeback victory in the final frame.
Wireman and classmate Michelle Rogers combined for five strikeouts in the circle.
In the tourney finale against Kennesaw State (14-6), the Panthers once again jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning as senior Hannah Cole drilled a two-RBI shot to left center and Kylie Bennett eventually brought Cole home with a hit to third base.
Unfortunately the host Owl squad would retake the lead in the same frame off a bases-loaded grand slam, then added two additional runs in both the third and fifth innings. EIU would add another run in the top of the sixth thanks to a solo bomb over the left center field fence by Bennett.
Wireman was unfortunately tagged for the loss to fall to 2-7 overall this season, while sophomore Hannah Rachor came in relief in the first frame and struck out a pair of Owl batters, while a trio of KSU pitchers saw action in the contest.
Bennett joined Markowski with a stolen base in the tough loss.
The Panthers and Lady Govs of APSU are set for a 1 p.m. doubleheader this coming Saturday, followed by a single game on Sunday, which is also scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch start.
MOREHEAD STATE 5, FAIRFIELD 4; MOREHEAD STATE 4, IPFW 3
BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Junior first baseman Dana Hutchins, freshman designated player Lindsay Ward and senior third baseman Katie Raile crushed home runs to lift Morehead State to a softball sweep of Fairfield and IPFW in the Hampton Inn Camel Stampede on Sunday at Littlejohn Stadium.
The Eagles posted a 5-4 victory over the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Stags in the opener and 4-3 win over the Summit League Mastodons in the second contest. MSU improves to 6-10 overall with its third victory in four games, while Fairfield slips to 0-3 and IPFW remains winless in 14 tilts.
Hutchins' two-run blast, her first of the season, tied game one with two outs in the sixth inning. Ward's game-winning solo shot, her second of the campaign, led off the seventh inning against Fairfield. Raile's game-tying solo bomb, her first of the year, came in the fifth frame versus IPFW.
The Eagles broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning against IPFW. Freshman pinch hitter Laine Simmons smashed a game-winning RBI triple with two outs and scored on the same play thanks to a throwing error by the Mastodons.
Morehead State collected 14 hits in the doubleheader, with Ward notching a team-best three. Fairfield sophomore catcher Tori Reed and IPFW junior center fielder Taylor Prescott were the only opponents with more than one hit. Reed finished 2-for-3, while Prescott went 2-for-4 with one run.
Freshman Mackenzie Grossmann went the distance for the game-one victory. She allowed no earned runs and just four hits while walking three and striking out two. The right-hander tossed a one-hitter on Saturday vs. Monmouth. She finishes the weekend 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings.
Senior right-hander Tanna Seuferer pitched all seven innings for the game-two win. She allowed three earned runs and scattered seven hits while walking one and fanning two. Grossmann improves to 3-3 on the season with a 3.00 ERA, while Seuferer moves to 3-2 with a 6.12 earned-run clip.
Junior right-hander Lauren Falkanger, who allowed three earned runs in one inning, suffered the game-one loss. Freshman right-hander Kaitlin Kowalski, who yielded three earned runs in six frames, was pinned with the game-two defeat. Falkanger is now 0-2 this season, while Kowalski is 0-3.
Morehead State is expected to play its next 11 contests at University Field. The Eagles are scheduled to host Atlantic 10 Conference opponent Dayton in a Wednesday doubleheader at 2 p.m. ET. MSU will then begin Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday and Sunday against Jacksonville State.
IOWA STATE 8, EASTERN KENTUCKY 7
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - On the final day of the 2015 UNLV Rebel Classic, the Eastern Kentucky University softball team came up just short in an 8-7 loss to Iowa State Sunday afternoon.
The Colonels (9-11) faced deficits of 4-0 and 8-4, but came battling back in each instance.
After Iowa State (13-7) put up a four-spot in the top of the third inning, EKU quickly rallied with four runs of its own in the bottom of the frame. Junior Sarah Fobbs, freshman Johnkyria Alston and freshman Sarah Jackson each recorded an RBI hit in the third.
The Cyclones took the lead for good in the fourth behind three more runs, all of which came with two outs. Iowa State tacked on its final run in the sixth to make the score, 8-4.
Fobbs made sure the Colonels would not go away quietly as she belted a two-run homer later in the sixth to cut the deficit to two runs, 8-6.
Eastern Kentucky put its first two batters on base in the bottom of the seventh, but could only muster one run.
Fobbs had a stellar final game in Las Vegas, going 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run and four RBIs. Freshman Paige Murphy piled up three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored twice.
The Colonels return to the Bluegrass State this week to take on No. 9 Kentucky this Wednesday, March 11. Game time in Lexington is scheduled for 5 p.m.