FRIDAY'S SCORES
East Tennessee State 4,
Eastern Kentucky 2
Eastern Kentucky 12, North Carolina Central 2
Morehead State 2, Campbell 0
@Coastal Carolina 10,
Morehead State 0
Eastern Illinois 7, Southern Illinois 0
@Mississippi State 4,
Eastern Illinois 1
SIUE 8, Saint Francis 6
@Baylor 4,
SIUE 4
Murray State 11, @Samford 0
UT Martin 1, Saint Louis 0
UT Martin 9, Western Michigan 0
Tennessee Tech 2, Texas A&M-Corpus Chisti 0
South Alabama 2,
Tennesssee Tech 0
Illinois State 7, A
ustin Peay 2
Austin Peay 3, Wright State 2
Alabama State 12,
@Tennessee State 2
@Tennessee State 5, Alabama State 3
Evansville 3,
@Belmont 2
@Belmont 14, Evansville 0 (5)
SIUE 8, ST. FRANCIS 6; BAYLOR 4, SIUE 0
WACO, Texas - SIUE softball collected nine hits in its ninth win of the season, an 8-6 victory over St. Francis in the opening game of the Baylor Invitational.
The Cougars are now 9-3 after an afternoon matchup against No. 24 Baylor in which the Bears defeated SIUE 4-0.
SIUE next faces UMass in a 12:30 p.m. contest Saturday. After the UMass game, the tournament moves to a bracket format. The Cougars either will play in the 3 p.m. game or the 5:30 p.m. game Saturday.
Sunday's finale in the tournament is scheduled for either 9:30 a.m. or noon pending the outcome of Saturday's second game.
In Friday's opener, SIUE cruised out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings. Alyssa Heren led the charge with a double and finished the game with three hits.
SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said she pleased to see Heren get the Cougars off to a good start after having just one hit last weekend at Auburn.
After a sacrifice bunt by Haley Chambers-Book, Schafer put the Cougars on the scoreboard with an RBI single through the left side of the infield. Schafer had a team-leading four hits for the day.
After Reagan Curtis was hit by a pitch, Allison Smiley doubled home both Haley Adrian, pinch running for Schafer, and Curtis.
After the Cougars added two runs in the second, St. Francis pushed back with three runs in the third off SIUE starter Emily Ingles and three more in the fifth off eventual winner Ashley Koziol.
SIUE third baseman Kalei Kaneshiro blasted her second home run of the season to open the bottom of the fifth. Conner Cutright added an RBI single for an insurance run.
Chambers-Book closed out the last four outs of the game with four strikeouts, earning her first save of the season.
In the Baylor game, SIUE managed four hits, including two from Schafer.
The Bears, now 10-3, had just one inning of offense but used it effectively, scoring four times in the third inning.
Chambers-Book took the loss and is now 5-2. She struck out three and did not walk a batter.
ILLINOIS STATE 7, AUSTIN PEAY 2; AUSTIN PEAY 3, WRIGHT STATE 2
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Carly Mattson’s RBI groundout in the top of the seventh inning, Saturday afternoon at Buchanon Park, capped a late-inning rally by the Governors who came from two-runs down to defeat Wright State, 3-2, after falling in their opening game 7-2 to Illinois State at the Hilltopper Spring Fling Tournament.
Danielle Liermann started the rally in the top of seventh for Austin Peay (4-2) by drawing a one-out walk and was then lifted for Drew Dudley, who came in to pinch run.
Allie Blackwood would follow with a ground ball to the Raiders (2-5) shortstop, who’s low throw to first got by the first baseman allowing Dudley to move all the way around into scoring position at third base, bring up Mattson.
Mattson would make the most of her chance, hitting a slow roller to the Wright State second baseman, who’s throw home to get Dudley wasn’t in time and giving the Govs their first lead of the game, 3-2.
Govs relief pitcher Kelsey Gross (2-1) would make that one-run lead stand up, as she sat down the Raiders in order in the bottom of the inning – including striking out the final two hitters to wrap the game up.
Overall, Gross pitched three no-hit, shutout innings of relief in picking up the victory -- allowing no base runners, while striking out five.
Wright State scored its two runs in the bottom of the first inning and made that lead hold up until the top of the fifth inning, when the Govs knotted the score, 2-2, with the first run coming in on a throwing error and the tying run coming in on a double by Blackwood – the only hit recorded by the Govs against the Raiders pitching staff.
In the opener versus Illinois State (5-5), the Govs fell behind the Redbirds 1-0 after one inning, where the score remained, until Illinois State padded their lead with four runs in the top of the fourth inning to go up 5-0.
The Govs would try to mount a rally, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning – on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Kacy Acree and Liermann – to cut the margin to three runs, 5-2, but that would be as close as the Govs would get, with the Redbirds tacking on two unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning for the 7-2 final.
The Govs will continue play in the Hilltopper Spring Fling on Saturday, when the face Indiana State at 5:30 p.m. at the WKU Softball Field.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 7, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 0; MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Eastern Illinois softball team split the opening day of the February Freezer Friday earning a 7-0 shutout victory over Southern Illinois before falling --- to host Mississippi State in the nightcap.
Michelle Rogers recorded her second shutout victory of the season earning the victory on the mound in EIU's tournament opener against the Salukis to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Haley Mitchell extended her hitting streak to 11 games as she was one of three Panthers to earn a hit in both games.
The Panthers opened tournament play Friday morning getting on the board in the bottom of the second inning against SIU. Ashlynne Paul hit a two-out single up the middle with runners on the corners scoring Amber Toenyes from third base to give EIU a 1-0 lead.
Mia Davis added to the Panther's lead the following inning with an RBI double to left field. Davis came around to score as Toenyes reached first on a throwing error from SIU's second baseman. The unearned run put EIU ahead 3-0 at the end of the third inning.
EIU broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning as both Kayla Bear and Mitchell smashed two-run home runs to give the Panthers a 7-0 cushion over the Salukis.
Allison Golic came in to close out the game for EIU in the top of the seventh replacing Rogers on the mound. Rogers earned the victory to improve to 5-1 on the year going six innings and throwing four strikeouts while allowing only four hits.
In the nightcap game, hosts Mississppi State took an early lead off Reggie's Harrison's two-run home run in the bottom of the first. The Bulldogs added another run in the second inning as Emily Heimberger managed to score from third base off a fielding error from the Panthers to buy MSU up 3-0 heading into the third.
The Panthers finally got on the board in the top of the third inning as Jennifer Ames earned a lead-off walk. Ames eventually advanced to third and came around to score as Bear hit an infield single to MSU's shortstop who recorded an error allowing Ames to score the unearned run and make it 3-1.
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the fifth inning off a solo home run from Olivia Golden to earn the final score of 4-1.
Jessica Wireman fell to 1-3 this season going six innings and throwing two strikeouts.
The Panthers continue tournament play Saturday morning against North Florida at 10 a.m.
MOREHEAD STATE 2, CAMPBELL 0; COASTAL CAROLINA 12, MOREHEAD STATE 0
CONWAY, S.C. - Junior Chelsea McManaway threw a shutout while sophomore Allison Rager provided the offense with a two-run home run as Morehead State softball downed Campbell, 2-0, on Friday afternoon.
In the second game, the Eagles fell to Coastal Carolina in five innings, 10-0.
With the split, Morehead State's record moves to 5-5.
Rager's home run came in the bottom of the third inning, also scoring freshman Cassie Griffin, who reached on a fielder's choice.
That would be all of the offense that McManaway needed as she recorded her third shutout of the season. She allowed three hits and two walks, while striking out 10.
In five starts this season, the junior from Wellston, Ohio, has 50 strikeouts.
Coastal Carolina then scored in each of the first four innings to down Morehead State, 10-0, in five innings in game two.
Sophomore Allison Rager picked up the loss after allowing five hits and five runs, just four of which were earned, in two innings. She walked two and struck out one.
Senior Kayla McGuffey recorded the lone hit for the Eagles in the loss.
Morehead State returns to action with two games tomorrow. They face Cleveland State at 9 a.m. and then Campbell at 4:30 p.m. ET.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 4, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2; EASTERN KENTUCKY 12, NC CENTRAL 1
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Colonels’ offense ignited for a season high 12 runs on 11 RBIs, as the Eastern Kentucky University softball picked up its first win of the season with a 12-2 victory over North Carolina Central University Friday at the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational.
Eastern held a 6-2 lead over NC Central in Friday’s second game, before three Colonels went deep in the inning, adding six insurance runs.
Senior Krislyn Campos delivered the first homer of the inning, after Brooke Harrison reached on Eagle error. Later in the inning, Sydney Vaughn singled before Amber Murray legged out a double to center field. With two away, senior Paige Murphy drove a three run shot over the wall in right field to extend the EKU lead to 11-2. Then, sophomore Rachel Minogue followed suit and belted one to right for good measure.
The Colonels plated one in the third to take a 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Mingoue. Eastern added a run in the fourth following an RBI sacrifice fly from Brittany Oldaker which scored Mia Sanchez.
N.C. Central answered with two in the bottom of the fourth to knot the game at two.
Sophomore Hannah Clark’s RBI single in the fourth helped EKU regain the lead in the fifth, as the Colonels plated three more in the sixth. Murray dropped an RBI single to center for the first run of the inning. Following a single from Sanchez to load the bases, Murphy drew a base on balls for another RBI as EKU went up 5-2. Murray later scored in the inning, putting Eastern up four before the plentiful seventh inning.
Freshmen Ashton Martin and Mollie Paulick split time in the win, scattering for four hits and eight strikeouts and giving up just two runs in the win.
In Friday’s first game, East Tennessee State University used a two-run fourth inning to pull away with a 4-2 win.
Tied at two, ETSU’s Danille Knoetze’s two run homer gave the Buccaneers a two run cushion for the win.
In the top of the second, junior Johnkyria Alston sent one over the wall in center to score Campos which put EKU up 2-0.
ETSU, however, answered in the home half of the inning with two runs of its own to even the score at two.
Minogue finished the day 5-for-7 with two RBIs to lead the Colonels’ offense. Sanchez, Alston, Clark, and Murray each had multiple hits on the day.
Eastern (1-6) continues play Saturday as it takes on Mount Saint Mary’s University at 1 p.m. before squaring off against Bucknell University at 3 p.m.
UT MARTIN 1, SAINT LOUIS 0; UT MARTIN 9, WESTERN MICHIGAN 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team benefited from a pair of dynamic pitching performances as the duo of Brooke Kennedy and Sara Hooten notched shutout victories on the opening day of the Chattanooga Frost Classic on Friday afternoon. The Skyhawks defeated Saint Louis 1-0 before knocking off Western Michigan 9-0 in the second half of the doubleheader.
The Skyhawks improved to 9-1 on the season, serving as the best start to a campaign since the 2010 season – a year in which the program won its first Ohio Valley Conference championship. A big part in the Skyhawks early success has been the team’s ability to balance a potent scoring attack along with stingy pitching performances. UT Martin has outscored its opponent 85-22 on the season while posting a team ERA of 2.26 in the pitching circle with four shutouts – two of which came today.
UT Martin outlasted Saint Louis in the opening game of the tournament by scoring the game’s lone run in the top of the seventh inning before watching Kennedy shut the door once again. The Skyhawks then came back in the second game of the day by outscoring Western Michigan 9-0 to notch its second shutout on the arm of Hooten.
The right-handed pair of Kennedy and Hooten were electric from the start, combining for a pair of shutouts while limiting their opponents to just eight hits in 14 innings of work while striking out 18 batters. Kennedy improved to 5-0 on the season, lowering her ERA to 2.71 on the season by striking out nine and allowing just five hits in her first shutout of the year. Hooten improved to 2-1 while watching her ERA drop to just 0.78 after striking out nine and allowing just three hits. Combined the duo held their opponents to just a .160 batting average in the two games.
Offensively, the Skyhawks relied on the bat of junior lefty Jodie Duncan who posted a monster day, going 6-for-7 with a double, a home run and four RBIs on the day. Fellow junior Aeron Smith also posted multiple RBIs, tallying a pair on two hits while Rachel Williams also notched an RBIs. Along with the strong play by the junior class, sophomore Jessie Douglas also made the most of her two hits by driving in the eventual game-winning run against Saint Louis.
Game 1: UT Martin 1, Saint Louis 0
The Skyhawks would open the tournament posting its lowest scoring performance of the season against a tough Saint Louis squad. Despite the lack of offense for the Skyhawks, the afternoon would be even more difficult for the Billikens who matched up against Kennedy at her best.
Kennedy dominated throughout the contest, limiting the Billikens to just three base hits with two of them coming in the second inning alone. Saint Louis would tally a pair of singles in the bottom of the second but would strand the runners on first and second – serving as the team’s best scoring chance of the afternoon.
After the second inning the Kennedy and the Skyhawks would challenge for the team’s go-ahead run. The Skyhawks would tally hits in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings but would fail to string a solid scoring opportunity together until the seventh inning.
With the game still knotted at zero heading into the seventh inning, UT Martin pushed to give Kennedy the offensive support she needed. The inning would look to stall as the first two batters recorded outs before the Skyhawks came alive. Smith would get the scoring opportunity started by lacing a double into left center. As the Skyhawks faced their first chance with a runner in scoring position, Douglas would come through with a bloop single to right with allowed Smith to come home on the play and give the squad a 1-0 advantage.
Playing with her first lead of the contest, Kennedy would put the game away in the bottom half of the inning with three consecutive strikeouts to end the game.
Game 2: UT Martin 9, Western Michigan 0
After a slow start to begin its stay in the Frost Classic, UT Martin wasted little time in its second contest taking a significant lead. Senior Carly Gonzales would lead off the inning with an opposite field single before moving herself into scoring position by swiping her eighth bag of the season before moving over to third following a sacrifice bunt. With the runner just 60 feet away from home, Williams would bring in the speedster with a single to put the Skyhawks on the board.
The following at-bat would see Renate Meckl reach base via a fielder’s choice – placing a pair of runners on the paths for Smith who notched a single of her own to score both Williams and Meckl on the play. The Skyhawks would then cap off the four-run first inning with a RBI single by Duncan to score Smith.
The Skyhawks would add to their advantage in the top of the third inning. Back-to-back fielder’s choice plays and an error would result in a pair of runner on the base paths. With yet another prime scoring opportunity, Duncan would come through once again with a two-run double to score both Smith and Alli Fulcher on the play, giving the squad a 6-0 advantage.
Behind the strong pitching performance of Hooten throughout the contest, the Broncos struggled to string together scoring chances. As a whole, Western Michigan would tally five base hits, scattering them over the first four innings. After allowing a base hit in the bottom of the fourth inning, Hooten would sit the Broncos down in order over the final three innings of play.
With the game already in control, UT Martin would find additional insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. A pair of errors on one play would result in the Skyhawks first run of the inning before a two-run home run by Duncan capped off her remarkable day by giving the Skyhawks a nine-run advantage.
UT Martin will return to action with another doubleheader on Day Two of the Chattanooga Frost Classic on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Skyhawks will matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson at 10 a.m. before taking on tournament host Chattanooga at 3 p.m.
EVANSVILLE 3, BELMONT 2; BELMONT 14, EVANSVILLE
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Belmont Softball split its first two games of the weekend at Rose Park on Friday. The Bruins (9-1) saw its program-record win streak snapped in a seventh inning heartbreaker in game one, 3-2, but rebounded in the nightcap, demolishing Evansville, (2-5), 14-0.
Game one started like all of the previous contests for the Bruins. BU posted runs first and went on to secure the victory down the stretch. Belmont jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the second, thanks to some hot bats. Doubles by juniors Lexi Rouse (Macon, Ga.) and Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.) notched the first run before back-to-back singles by sophomore Sami Long (Springfield, Ill.) and senior Kayla Wells (Bonney Lake, Wash.) opened the door for a sacrifice hit by senior Amy Zeronian (Pasadena, Calif.) to send another run over the plate.
BU maintained the 2-0 lead until the top of the sixth. Evansville rallied behind a pair of deep singles and double to knot the score, 2-2. The Purple Aces built on the momentum of keeping the Bruin bats nearly silent in the bottom of the sixth to again score in the top of the seventh. UE dug deep with two outs on the board to grab the lead. Using pinch hitters and stolen bases, Evansville added what would become the game winning run behind a single to right field. The Bruins got two runners on base but a double play severely crippled the late rally effort. A ground out ended the seventh for BU and handed Evansville the narrow 3-2 win.
The nightcap was lopsided from start to finish in favor of the Bruins. The Purple Aces resorted to three pitching changes and even took the unusual step of changing the entire personnel in both the infield and outfield to try to stop the streaking Bruins but to no avail. Belmont unloaded five runs in the bottom of the first and plated six runs in the bottom of the second inning to go up 11-0.
UE connected on a pair of hits over the five innings but Belmont's defense prevented the opponent from making a dent in the deficit. BU notched three more runs in the bottom of the third, even after the massive Purple Ace defensive swap, to take a 14-0 lead. All told, the Bruins recorded 14 runs on nine hits to secure their second run-ruled win of the season.
For the day, Rouse led the Bruins at the plate, batting .571with four runs put over the plate. Andree, senior Shersty Stanton (Pinckneyville, Ill.) and Cook each batted .500 over the two games. Long and Zeronian contributed four RBI apiece.
Inside the circle, sophomore Ashley Johnson (Kingwood, Texas) and freshman Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) each logged complete games. Lee matched her career-best 13 strikeouts while Johnson finished with four.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday at Rose Park, hosting Alabama State for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for both games.
MURRAY STATE 11, SAMFORD 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Murray State softball team opened play in the 2017 Samford/UAB Classic by shutting out one of the two host teams, Samford, 11-0, Friday at the Bulldog Softball Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
In the first three innings of the game, neither team was able to gain an advantage as there was just one hit by each team over the first three stanzas. In the fourth, the Racers (9-2) broke the scoreless tie on a RBI-single from Cayla Levins that scored pinch runner Kristen Bialek. Bialek pinch ran for Taylor Odom who reached base on the first of four errors committed by Samford in the game.
In the fifth, Brenna Finck scored on throwing error by the Bulldogs, after her and Jessica Twaddle each reached on singles earlier in the inning. In the next at bat, Jocelynn Rodgers blasted her third home run of the season to score Twaddle and make it 4-0, Murray State.
MSU erased any hopes of a rally by Samford in the top of the seventh as they scored seven runs on four hits and one error. Levins and Erika Downey each drove in one run in the inning on RBI-singles, while Leah Kesel added to MSU’s tally by drawing a bases-loaded walk. Levins would go on to score in the frame on an illegal pitch before Odom and Rodgers capped the scoring at 11-0 with back-to-back doubles.
Mason Robinson advanced to 7-1 on the season with the complete game shutout, her second of the year, by allowing just three hits with no strikeouts and no walks. Finck, Twaddle, Rodgers and Levins each had two hits in the game, accounting for eight of MSU’s total 11 hits in the contest.
The Racers will return to action in the 2017 Samford/UAB Classic Saturday when play shifts across town to Mary Bowers Field on the campus of UAB. MSU will open play on day two at 11 a.m. with a rematch against Samford, followed by a 3:30 p.m. showdown with the host Blazers.