SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 2, Jacksonville State 1
Jacksonville State 6, @Eastern Illinois 1
Tennessee Tech 4, @SIUE 3
Tennessee Tech 4, @SIUE 2
@Murray State 8, Morehead State 0 (5)
@Murray State 6, Morehead State 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 2, JACKSONVILLE STATE; JACKSONVILLE STATE 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball earned a key Ohio Valley Conference home split versus perennial league power Jacksonville State on Sunday (April 5), as the Panthers rallied for a 2-1 first game win before falling, 5-1, in the nightcap.
The second league split of the weekend moves the Panthers to 12-18 overall and an even 7-7 in league play, as the Gamecocks now sport a 24-11 and 8-3 marks, respectively.
Eastern will hit the road in a mid-week twinbill at Ball State this Tuesday (April 7), before traveling to UT Martin for a three-game OVC series next weekend.
For the day, junior outfielder Jennette Isaac led all Panthers at the plate with a 3-for-6 mark, followed by classmate April Markowski's 2-for-6 tally, which included an RBI. Both players also scampered for stolen bases.
Catcher/designated player Hannah Cole earned the first game heroics as the senior drilled a two-run triple down the right field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning to help the Panthers earn the 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the Gamecocks.
The visiting squad enjoyed the early 1-0 advantage after an RBI single in the top of the second. A pitching duel ensued as Panther freshman Michelle Rogers earned the victory to improve to 6-8 overall behind five strikeouts and four walks. JSU's Taylor West finished with six Ks of her own and zero walks, yet allowed two crucial runs off five hits, as she fell to 7-4 on the year with the defeat.
Isaac connected on two hits in the first game victory and joined Markowski at home for respective Panther scores.
In the nightcap, the Panthers jumped out to their own early 1-0 advantage as Markowski hit an off-speed RBI shot to third base to bring home freshman pinch-runner Tori Johnson from third base.
Unfortunately the Gamecocks would counter with three runs in the fifth and two additional scores in their half of the sixth and seventh frames for the eventual win and split.
Freshman Jessica Wireman earned the complete loss to move to 5-9, yet finished with four Ks and just one walk while allowing just three earned runs. The JSU winning thrower only had one strikeout in comparison.
Markowski and Isaac once again earned hits, with Markowski nabbing another base theft to continue to lead all Panthers in that stat category. Ashlynne Paul also added a single.
In team-stats, JSU actually out-hit EIU, .304-to-.196 for the day, including holding an advantage in runs (6-to-3), hits (17-to-9), doubles (3-to-none), and RBI (5-to-3). Yet EIU did lead in triples (two-to-none), stolen bases (2-to-none), and strikeouts thrown (9-to-7).
JSU continues to maintain a 25-12 all-time series advantage over the Panthers, yet this season marks the second consecutive split between the two league foes.
MURRAY STATE 8, MOREHEAD STATE 0; MURRAY STATE 6, MOREHEAD STATE 0
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State softball team blanked Morehead State twice Sunday, 8-0 in five innings and 6-0, at Racer Field in Murray, giving the Racers five win in their last five games.
The Racers (22-12, 9-5 OVC) jumped all over Morehead State from the word go, outhitting the Eagles, 21-7, over the two-game-span. Murray State had six extra-base hits in the contest, including two doubles, two triple and two home runs. The Racers were also able capitalize on four errors by Morehead State (13-18, 4-7 OVC) in the doubleheader, while committing none themselves.
Maggie Glass led Murray State on the day by going 3-for-4 with two runs, four RBIs, a triple, a home run and a walk, while Mo Ramsey followed at 5-for-7 with four runs and a stolen base. Alexa Becker turned in another sold day at the plate by going 4-for-6 with three runs, a double, a home run, two RBIs, a walk and a stolen base, while Shelbey Miller was 3-for-6 with a double, a triple, a RBI and a stolen base.
In addition to the hitting, the Murray State pitching was also on point Sunday. Pitchers CheyAnne Gaskey and Mason Robinson combined to allow to no runs on seven hits with 13 strikeouts and just four walks in the doubleheader. The Eagles were held to a .167 average on the day by the Racer duo and could muster just one extra-base hit in 12 innings of play.
Gaskey picked up her third solo shutout of the season and the ninth of her career in game one, tying her for the most all-time with past Racer Shelby Kosmecki. The senior allowed no runs on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks over five innings of play. For Robinson in game two, she allowed just one hit and two walks with a season-high eight strikeouts over the full seven innings for her second solo shutout of the season.
TENNESSEE TECH 4, SIUE 3; TENNESSEE TECH 4, SIUE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A pair of big innings proved to be the difference for the Tennessee Tech softball team, as the Golden Eagles marched into Edwardsville and impressively swept both games of a doubleheader against a first-place Cougar squad that entered the day a staggering 11-1 in the OVC.
Four in the fifth of the twin bill opener pushed Tech (22-17, 9-5) to a 4-3 victory, before TTU mirrored a similar third inning barrage in the second game with another four spot en route to a 4-2 win to complete the sweep.
It was another big afternoon for sophomore Danielle Liberatore (13-7), who played a pivotal role in both contests with a save in the first tilt and a win in the second, striking out 13 over the course of eight and one-third innings in the double dip.
In fact, the 5-foot-10 southpaw's 10 punch outs in the second game made it three consecutive starts in which she has reached double-digit strikeouts, running her total to seven starts with at least 10 on the season as well. Liberatore ends a stellar weekend that saw the Peotone, Ill. native fan 34 batters in 19 innings from inside the circle.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the top of the fifth in the double dip opener, Tech touched up junior Haley Chambers (17-4) to the tune of four runs to seize control of the contest. Chambers had entered the game with an OVC-leading 17 wins and 195 strikeouts, but the Golden Eagles were able to get to the Coatesville, Ind. native behind some small ball, an SIUE error, Chambers control issues, and a monster hit by senior Hannah Eldridge.
TTU began the frame with a Bayli Cruse single up the middle, before Tech called on sophomore Gabby Perez to pinch run. Junior Sabrie Neeb followed the leadoff knock with a sacrifice bunt to push Perez into scoring position, before a Cougar defensive miscue on a ball hit by sophomore Kelly Kennedy put runners on the corners with one down.
Chambers promptly plunked the next two Golden Eagles, hitting junior Cortney Fry to load the bases, before an errant pitch to senior Angi Sakamoto forced in a run that deadlocked the tilt at 1-1.
With the bases still juiced, senior Hannah Eldridge delivered the game's biggest hit, a bases clearing double into right center to give the Golden Eagles a 4-1 edge.
In the bottom of the sixth, Edwardsville (29-9, 11-3) finally got to senior Erica Tuck (2-1), who once again proved vital on the slab with another effective outing. With two out and a runner on first, sophomore Whitney Lanphier doubled home fellow sophomore Allison Smiley to cut it to a 4-2 affair, before senior Brittany Toney brought around Lanphier with a run-scoring single to center to put the Cougars within a run.
The consecutive knocks brought an end to Tuck's day, as TTU Head Coach Bonnie Bynum called on Liberatore, who promptly induced freshman Tess Eby on a fly ball to right to put an end to any further trouble.
Liberatore's escape in the sixth transitioned into a lights-out seventh for the sophomore hurler, who struck out the side in order to notch her first save of the season.
As far as Tuck is concerned, the Maryville, Tenn. native recorded her second win of the season after tossing five and two-thirds, three-run, seven-hit ball with three punch outs as well. In Tuck's last three OVC outings, the 5-foot-9 right hander has given up just five earned runs in 17 and one-third innings of work, posting a 2.02 ERA over that stretch.
Haley Chambers suffered only her fourth loss of the season, despite striking out 11 as part of a complete-game effort.
Scoreless in the day's second game, Tech erupted with a four-spot in the top of the third to break the 0-0 deadlock. A two-out Olivia Bennett RBI double kicked off the scoring, before Sabrie Neeb belted a three-run home run two batters later to give the Golden Eagles a four-run cushion.
Neeb's round tripper was the second in the last six games for the Front Royal, Va. native, wrapping up a three-hit day for the 5-foot-7 infielder.
Liberatore made the four-run lead stand, only falling into trouble in the bottom of the fifth during an inning that featured a pair of Cougar runs. Sophomore Amy Hunt started the frame with a single to center, before the Troy, Ill. native advanced to second on a Jordan LaFave sacrifice bunt. A hit off the bat of Haley Chambers, coupled with a Tech error, put SIUE on the scoreboard, before Chambers touched up home two batters later on an Allison Smiley run-scoring single that trimmed the Golden Eagle advantage to 4-2.
The Smiley knock was the last base runner to reach for the Cougars, as Liberatore would go on to set the next seven SIUE hitters down, three via the "K" en route to the double-digit strikeout performance.
Freshman Baylee Douglass (11-4) was hit with the loss after going the distance and allowing four runs on six hits.