SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 1, Morehead State 0
Morehead State 3, @Southeast Missouri 1
@Eastern Illinois 12, Tennessee State 0
@Eastern Illinois 6, Tennessee State 5
@Jacksonville State 8, Murray State 2
@Jacksonville State 5, Murray State 2
@SIUE 3, Belmont 0
Belmont 2, @SIUE 0
Eastern Kentucky 4, @UT Martin 1
Eastern Kentucky 6, @UT Martin 3
@Tennessee Tech 7, Austin Peay 0
@Tennessee Tech 10, Austin Peay 3
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1, MOREHEAD STATE 0; MOREHEAD STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - A pair of one-hit games resulted in a doubleheader split between Southeast Missouri (11-22, 6-11) and Morehead State (17-19, 8-8) Saturday in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Southeast Softball Complex. The Redhawks took game one, 1-0, before dropping the nightcap, 3-1.
Madeline Krumrey and Tanna Seuferer each pitched one-hit complete game victories.
Southeast Missouri 1, Morehead State 0
Krumrey tossed the first shutout of her career to lead Southeast to a 1-0 victory in game one.
Krumrey, who did not have a strikeout or allow a walk, gave up her only hit when Tressa Watson doubled with one out in the second inning. After that, Krumrey retired 17 in a row to polish off her fourth complete game win of the season.
Kayla Fortner singled to right center and came around to score the only run of the game on an error by shortstop Karly Thompson in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Southeast registered five hits, with Fortner going 2-for-2 with a walk to lead the way. Meaghan Touchette, Riley Hayes and India Davis added one hit apiece.
Krumrey, who improved to 8-8 this season, is the first Redhawk pitcher to throw a complete game shutout since teammate Keaira Schilling accomplished the feat in a 2-0 victory vs. Grambling State on Feb. 16, 2014.
Mackenzie Grossmann (10-7) suffered the loss for MSU. Grossmann allowed five hits and a run (unearned) in six innings. She also walked three and, like Krumrey, did not record a strikeout.
Additionally, Southeast had a season-high six stolen bases against the Eagles.
Morehead State 3, Southeast Missouri 1
Morehead State rallied behind Seuferer's gem to win the nightcap, 3-1.
Seuferer (7-5) struck out four and managed to pitch out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fifth inning to preserve her seventh victory of the season.
Lindsey Patterson reached on an error and Hayes walked to start the fifth. Chelsea Smith fouled out and Touchette struck out before Taylor McDannold walked to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Claire Wernig hit a hard line drive to third base, but Katie Raile caught the ball to end the Redhawks best scoring threat.
Fortner wrecked Seuferer's no-hit bid with a home run to left field with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. It marked Fortner's team-high 13th homer of the season, as she moved into a tie for second with Michelle Summers on Southeast's all-time single-season home run list. Fortner needs just two more homers to break the school's single-season record.
MSU scored twice in the third inning and tacked on another in the fifth, outhitting the Redhawks, 7-1.
Kayla McGuffey went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Dana Hutchins went 2-for-3 at the top of the Eagles order.
Krumrey (8-9) suffered the loss, giving up three hits and two runs in three innings.
Schilling went the rest of the way, allowing four hits and a run in four frames.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 12, TENNESSEE STATE 0; EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, TENNESSEE STATE 5
CHARLESTON, Ill. - – Eastern Illinois softball earned an Ohio Valley Conference twinbill sweep of visiting Tennessee State today (April 18) via scores of 12-0 (5-inn.) and 6-5, as Panther skipper Angie Nicholson earned her 400th career victory in the first game rout.
The Panthers improve to 16-22 overall and 11-8 in league action as EIU has now won 12 straight over the Tigers (9-30/2-16) to enjoy a 40-11 all-time series advantage.
Nicholson began her career back in 2001, as a four-year coach at NJCAA Cuyahoga Community College, before taking a one year stint at NCAA DII Ursuline. She joined the NCAA DI ranks at Butler in 2006 prior to enjoying a seven-year tenure at her alma mater, Cleveland State, from 2007-13 and taking over the EIU Panther program last spring.
With today's OVC sweep of TSU, Nicholson now sports an all-time 401-303-1 overall 15-year mark and 282-221-1 DI record over the past ten seasons.
In the opening five-inning win over the Tigers, the Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening frame as seniors Bailey O'Dell and Hannah Cole, plus sophomore Ashlynne Paul, all delivered RBI doubles, while fellow sophomore Hannah Rachor added an RBI single.
Eastern then erupted for eight scores in the bottom of the third as sophomore Amber Toenyes added her own RBI single and Paul notched an RBI fielder's choice, while pinch-hitter Kylie Bennett drilled a bases-clearing double. Junior April Markowski and O'Dell both added respective RBI shots of their own, while Cole earned a sac fly RBI to account for the final EIU scoring onslaught.
Freshman Jessica Wireman pitched a five-inning gem, giving up just one TSU hit to nab her third shutout of the season. She fanned three Tiger batters and allowed one walk.
Team-wise, the Panthers notched 12 hits and capitalized on a pair of TSU miscues, as Eastern only stranded two runners for three for the visiting Tiger squad.
The nightcap saw the Nashville squad jump out to an early 4-0 lead, thanks to a three-run homerun in the top of the opening frame, before the Tigers added another score in the second off an RBI single.
The Panthers would cut the deficit in half in their own half of the third inning as Markowski blasted a two-run bomb over the left field wall to also plate junior Haylee Beck.
Yet the visitors would add another score off an EIU error to enjoy a 5-2 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth. That's where the Panthers plated four runs for the eventual 6-5 comeback.
First Cole lifted her own shot over the center field fence, then Paul followed with an eventual bases-loaded RBI single, but Markowski provided the game-winning heroics as she singled to left field which allowed both juniorKatie Watson and sophomore Amber Toenyes to scamper home for the go-ahead run.
Wireman once again earned the second game win, taking over for starter Michelle Rogers in the circle, as both freshman allowed four TSU hits and combined for four Ks and a pair of walks.
For the twinbill, EIU out-hit the Tigers, .408-to-.205 behind a 20-to-9 advantage in total hits. Cole led the way with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including a walk, two doubles, three RBIs and eight total bases for a 2.000% slug mark. Markowski followed at 4-for-7 with five RBIs, seven total bases, and tying both junior Jennette Isaac and newcomer Tori Johnson with respective stolen bases.
Wireman held the TSU bats to a low .135 batting average behind 11 total innings of work and allowed zero earned runs. O'Dell and Rachor each registered four assists to lead the EIU defense.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 8, MURRAY STATE 2; JACKSONVILLE STATE 5, MURRAY STATE 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team used good pitching and timely hitting to sweep a key Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader from Murray State on Saturday at University Field.
Senior Sara Borders homered twice and sophomore Taylor West held the Racers (25-16, 12-7 OVC) at bay in an 8-2 win in game one, while Stephanie Lewis went 3-for-3 in a 5-2 win by the Gamecocks (28-14, 11-5 OVC) in the finale.
Lewis and Borders each had four hits and two walks on the day, while junior Ella Denes had two hits and four walks in the doubleheader that saw JSU jump MSU in the league standings.
West tossed a complete game to win the opener and came in to pitch the seventh after six stellar innings from Logan Green in the nightcap to get her first save.
In the first game, Borders went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI to pace the Gamecocks, while Ella Denes drove in a pair and walked once in a 1-for-2 game. Borders' third career two-home run game ran her career total to 42, second most in school history to Daniela Pappano's school record 53 from 2004-07.
In that opening game, Borders got the Gamecocks on the board and in the hit column in one fourth inning swing. She lined CheyAnne Gaskey's 0-2 pitch just inside the right field foul pole and off the roof beyond the right field wall to make it 1-0 in JSU's favor.
The Racers got the run back in the top of the fifth on a two-out infield single by Mo Ramsey that drove in Cayla Levins from third.
The Gamecocks reclaimed the lead in the home half of the fifth, a three-run frame that saw JSU record just one hit. A leadoff walk to Jordan Bullock and an error on shortstop Alexa Becker, who dropped an Emily Woodruff pop up while looking into a misting rain, set JSU up.
Ella Denes moved the runners over, and Savannah Sloan lifted a sac fly to left that plated Bullock and made it a 2-1 game. Borders followed with her second homer of the game, an opposite field fly ball that carried over the wall in left and gave JSU a 4-1 lead.
JSU broke it open in the sixth, starting with an RBI single through the right side from Bullock, who was followed by Denes' two-run single in the same spot. Borders drove in the final run with a line drive single to right that made it an 8-1 JSU lead.
The Racers got one in the seventh on a JSU error, but it wouldn't be enough in dropping the first game of the twinbill.
West (9-4) earned the win with a complete game gem that saw her hold the Racers to two runs, only one earned, on eight hits. She struck out three and walked two.
Gaskey (13-8) suffered the loss in the circle after allowing four runs, just one earned, on three hits and two walks. Haven Campbell recorded just two outs in relief but surrendered four runs on four hits and two walks in the process. Mason Robinson got the final out of the game to stop the bleeding.
Lewis led the Gamecock offense in the nightcap, tying her career high for hits in a game with three in her 3-for-3, three-RBI showing. She also drew a walk.
JSU wasted little time getting on the board in game two, thanks to a pair of walks from starter Robinson to Denes and Borders. Lewis delivered the lone hit of the inning, a two-out drive up the middle that plated both runners and gave JSU a 2-0 lead.
JSU starter Green didn't allow a hit until to top of the fourth, when Jessica Twaddle's leadoff single broke up the JSU sophomore's run at a no-hitter. The Gamecocks got another two-out run in the home half of the fourth on Savannah Sloan's double to right center that scored Denes after her third walk of the game one batter earlier.
Despite putting the leadoff batter on base in each of the first five innings, it took until the fifth for the Racers to get a run across. They loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth, but only got one run on a Twaddle grounder that also led to Mallory Young running out of the inning and getting thrown out at the plate to end the threat.
Murray State didn't get the leadoff man aboard in the sixth but still added a run. Shelbey Miller's one-out double set up an RBI single from Maggie Glass that cut JSU's lead to one at 3-2.
A Murray error and Lewis' third hit of the game scored two more and gave the Gamecocks a 5-2 lead. Heading into the final inning.
JSU turned to West to close the game and she did just that, working around a leadoff single from Mallory Young to earn her first save of the season. Green (11-4) earned the win by limiting the OVC's top offense coming in to two runs n seven hits in six innings.
Robinson (10-5) was tagged with the loss after surrendering all five runs, four earned, on eight hits and seven walks in 5 1/3 innings in the circle. Mallory Young had two hits to lead the Racer offense.
SIUE 3, BELMONT 0; BELMONT 2, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE softball celebrated with its alumni between games Saturday and played to a split against Belmont at Cougar Field.
Numerous SIUE softball alumni were on hand as SIUE won game one 3-0. Belmont grabbed the nightcap 2-0.
The Cougars are now 34-10 overall and 15-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Belmont moved to 10-28 overall and 5-13 in the OVC. SIUE will continue this home stand Sunday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Tennessee State.
Haley Chambers tossed her seventh shutout of the season in game one with a three-hitter. It was Chambers' 20th victory of the season. It is the 14th time an SIUE pitcher has passed the 20-win mark and the 10th different SIUE hurler to accomplish the feat.
The only run the Cougars needed in game one was an RBI single by Haley Adrian in the bottom of the second. Rachel Keller scored for SIUE.
SIUE scored two more in the fifth inning. Haley Chambers doubled home Jordan LaFave. Rebecca Gray singled home Kelsey Hansen.
The Cougar offense was even with Belmont in game two with four hits apiece.
Belmont, however, picked up both of its RBIs from Kat Hollingsworth on a sacrifice fly in the first and a solo home run in the sixth.
Baylee Douglass took the loss and is now 13-5. She struck out four.
SIUE had two runners left on base in the bottom of the seventh. Chambers' two-out bid for a home run to win the game came up short on a fly ball to right field.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, AUSTIN PEAY 0; TENNESSEE TECH 10, AUSTIN PEAY 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech softball team had everything working for them Saturday afternoon, using the combination of lights out pitching and stellar hitting to push its way to a doubleheader sweep over Austin Peay (8-28, 4-13) on Senior Day.
Sophomore Danielle Liberatore (14-8) cruised through the opener to lead the Golden Eagles (26-21, 13-6) to a 7-0 victory, before four Tech home runs helped guide the Golden Eagles to a 10-3 win in the day's second game.
Liberatore set the afternoon's tone early after working six shutout innings to secure the Peotone, Ill. native's 14th win of the season. The 5-foot-10 southpaw yielded just one hit in her six innings in the circle, whiffing six Governors as well to tally her sixth OVC shutout in 11 conference starts.
Offensively, Tech came to Liberatore's aid early, scoring six runs in the first two innings, including a five-spot in the bottom of the second. Junior Olivia Bennett jumped the Golden Eagles on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, one of four RBI on the day for the 5-foot-4 outfielder.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of a pair of Austin Peay errors in the second inning, using five hits as well to break the game open early. Junior Madison Taylor started the chaotic frame with a double down the right field line, which was promptly followed by a Kelly Kennedy single and a Lady Govs' defensive miscue that allowed Taylor to score from second to give Tech a 2-0 lead.
Junior Cortney Fry kept the line moving with a single into center to move Kennedy to second, before a Gabby Perez sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one down. Senior Angi Sakamoto's sacrifice fly pushed the edge to 3-0, which was followed by a second APSU error of the inning on a ball hit by senior Hannah Eldridge to make it 4-0.
Tech closed out the inning's offensive surge with a Bayli Cruse two-run single that boosted the Golden Eagle lead to 6-0, essentially putting the game on ice with the way Liberatore was pitching.
Cruse's two-run knock was only the beginning for the freshman catcher, who would go on to have a twin bill to remember with a 5-for-7 showing in the two games that included a double, a home run, two runs scored, and five RBI.
TTU put a lid on its scoring in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an Olivia Bennett RBI double into left center that extend the Golden Eagle lead to 7-0.
Most of the damage occurred off Austin Peay starter Natalie Ayala (4-11), who was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs (three earned) in 1 2/3 innings.
Tech senior Taylor Ketchum came on and pitched a scoreless seventh, setting the Senior Day tone that saw the Golden Eagles receive important contributions from their six seniors.
In fact, with Tech trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the third of the second game, senior Angi Sakamoto came through in big fashion. The Waipahu, Hawaii native led off the frame with a game-tying home run over the center field wall, the lefty-swinging outfielder's sixth of the season.
The round tripper was the first of four in the day's second tilt, aiding a Golden Eagle offense that scored seven unanswered en route to the 10-3 win. Bayli Cruse was responsible for the second Tech long ball, drilling a three-run bomb in the bottom of the third to give TTU its first lead of the contest, at 6-3.
In the bottom of the fourth, Olivia Bennett did the honors with a two-run shot to left field, the Mentone, Calif. native's OVC-leading 14th of the season to hand the Golden Eagles a 9-3 lead.
Senior Hannah Eldridge capped off the offensive outburst, slugging a solo home run in the last of the sixth, the senior second baseman's sixth of the year.
The barrage of round trippers was more than enough for senior Erica Tuck (4-1), who looked sharp in registering her fourth win of the year. The 5-foot-9 right-hander slipped past a shaky beginning that saw her allow three runs in the first three innings, blanking the Govs over the next four frames as part of a complete-game showing that lowered Tuck's OVC-ERA to 2.60.
Sophomore Sidney Hooper (2-9) was hit with the loss after the APSU starting pitcher went 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs on six hits.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, UT MARTIN 1; EASTERN KENTUCKY 6, UT MARTIN 3
MARTIN, Tenn. -The Eastern Kentucky University softball team notched a pair of OVC wins Saturday afternoon, defeating host UT Martin by scores of 4-1 and 6-3.
The Colonels (20-22, 10-6 OVC) are now riding a season-high five-game winning streak.
Game one saw senior pitcher Leanna Pittsenbarger (9-9) strike out 11 Skyhawks on the way to earning her sixth complete game of the season. The only run allowed by Pittsenbarger was a solo home run in the first inning.
EKU took the lead in the top of the first inning on senior Katie Tackett’s two-run home run and never trailed. Tackett has now hit four long balls in the last six games. The first baseman added another RBI in the seventh.
Freshman Sarah Jackson went 3-for-3 at the plate in the opener and junior Sarah Fobbs added two hits as well.
In game two, the Colonels exploded for four runs in the opening frame. Tackett got things kicked off with a two-run single. Three hitters later, senior Shannon McQueen came through with another two-run single.
UT Martin (23-20, 9-9) chipped away at the deficit with a run in the second and third innings, but junior Kayla Joyce put the Colonels back up by three runs with an RBI single in the fourth.
Sophomore Krislyn Campos homered in the sixth to extend Eastern’s lead to 6-2.
Senior Shaylon Robb, pitching in her hometown, notched the win in game two by tossing 4.0 innings and allowing just two runs.
Tackett finished 4-for-8 with a home run and five RBIs in the doubleheader.