SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 5, Tennessee State 3
@Eastern Illinois 9, Tennessee State 1
@Jacksonville State 3, Southeast Missouri 0
@Jacksovnille State 9, Southeast Missouri 5
@Murray State 5, Morehead State 1
Morehead State 4, Murray State 2
@SIUE 2, Belmont 1
Belmont 8, @SIUE 2
Eastern Kentucky 7, @Austin Peay 3
Eastern Kentucky 1, @Austin Peay 0
UT Martin 6, @Tennessee Tech 5
UT Martin 10, @Tennessee Tech 2
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, TENNESSEE STATE 3; EASTERN ILLINOS 9, TENNESSEE STATE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball closed out their weekend home stand sweeping Tennessee State to improve to 17-15 overall and 3-1 in the OVC. The Panthers won game one of Sunday's doubleheader 5-3 before downing the Tigers 9-1 in five innings to close out the day.
Following the losses TSU drops to 8-19 on the year and 0-4 in conference play.
Both Michelle Rogers and Jessica Wireman recorded complete game victories to improve to 9-6 and 7-9 on the year respectively.
Senior Amber Toenyes led the Panthers at the plate finishing the day 4-for-6 with three RBIs and a triple.
Scoring started quickly Sunday afternoon as TSU's Danica Gleason hit an RBI triple to give the Lady Tigers the lead 1-0 in the top of the first inning. Gleason would score from third on the next at-bat thanks to a sacrifice hit from Sarah Snell to end the top of the first ahead 2-0.
The Panthers answered right back in the bottom of the first inning after Mia Davis reached first base off a Lady Tiger error with two outs. Haley Mitchell was able to bring Davis around to score from first base with a double to right center field putting EIU on the board 2-1. Toenyes tied the game up 2-2 on the next at-bat with an RBI single to center field.
TSU regained the lead in the top of the third inning as the Lady Tigers recorded another sacrifice hit this time from Courtney Gearlds scoring Kasey Cox from third base to make it 3-2.
Not to be out done the Panthers responded in the bottom of the third inning with a lead off infield single from Kayla Bear. Bear went on to steal second and third base scoring off a ground-out from Davis to knot the game up 3-3.
After Mitchell was walked, Toenyes earned her second RBI of the game smashing a triple to deep right field clearing the bases and giving EIU a 4-3 lead. Toenyes' triple was only the second of her career, the first took place last season against none other than Tennessee State.
EIU added one more run before the inning was over thanks to a single up the middle from Mady Poulter to make it 5-3.
Rogers closed out the rest of the game with four scoreless innings throwing five strikeouts on her way to the seven-inning victory. At the plate, Rogers earned her first career hit at EIU finishing game one 1-for-3.
The Panthers bats really came alive in game two as EIU opened the gates in the bottom of the second inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, Kiley Pelker hit her third double of the season to clear the bases and give EIU a 2-0 lead. Bear followed that up with a double of her own on the next at-bat to bring around Pelker to score. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Bear gave EIU one more run in the inning scoring on an infield single from Taylor Monahan to close out the inning with a 4-0 lead.
TSU was able to avoid the shutout in the third inning as Cox was able to score from third base during Selena Crafton's rundown to make it 4-1.
Davis recorded her second RBI of the game in the following inning scoring Bear from second base off an RBI single to right center field. Davis eventually scored herself off a sacrifice fly to right field from Poulter to give EIU a 6-1 lead. Davis finished the day with three RBIs while both she and Bear recorded three runs scored.
EIU closed out the game in the bottom of the fifth inning putting runners on first and second with two outs. Davis singled through the right side to score Andrea Roberts before eventually advancing to second on a passed ball. With runners on second and third base Mitchell and Toenyes recorded back-to-back singles to bring two runners around and earn the walk-off 9-1 victory in five innings.
Four Panthers finished the game recording two or more hits led by Mitchell who went 3-for-4.
Wireman finished the game with four strikeouts in her five innings on the mound.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0; JACKSONVILLE STATE 9, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team swept a doubleheader from Southeast Missouri on Sunday at University Field, winning game one 3-0 before outslugging the Redhawks 9-5 in the nightcap.
Junior Whitney Gillespie threw a total of nine shutout innings on the day, including a four-hit complete game in the first game of the day. The Pelham native didn't allow a hit in two relief innings in game two of the Gamecocks (21-9, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) first conference sweep of the season.
At the plate, JSU hit .358 as a team with a .443 collective on-base percentage to outscore the Redhawks (15-14, 0-4 OVC) 12-5. Senior Jamie McGuire homered and walked three times in her 3-for-4 day, while fellow senior Taylor Sloan went 4-for-7 with four RBI, all in the second game.
Junior Leila Chambers made her way into the JSU lineup in right field and made the most of it. The Molena, Ga., native went 3-for-6 with a double and an RBI over the two games.
Gillespie (11-3) was stellar in the circle, tossing her 11th complete game and fourth shutout of the season in the opener. She needed just 99 pitches to dispose of the Redhawks lineup in game one, while the offense put together just enough offense to grab the win.
McGuire was 2-for-2 with a homer, a walk and two RBI in the win, while Sloan also had two hits in a 2-for-3 game.
JSU scored in the first after an Anna Chisolm triple set up an RBI ground out from Alexus Jimmerson. A McGuire single in the second plated Chambers and her solo homer in the fourth capped the scoring in the game.
Mackenzie Hoelting (0-4) suffered the loss for SEMO, allowing three runs on seven hits in six frames that also saw her walk five and strike out one.
In the nightcap, JSU struck early again. The Gamecocks got three runs in the first inning, thanks to an RBI double by senior Stephanie Lewis and a two-run single from Sloan.
After SEMO got one back on a Darby Pruett solo homer in the second, Chisolm took Redhawks starter Madeline Krumrey deep in the home half of the second for her team-leading seventh homer of the season.
SEMo scored another in the fifth to make it a 4-2 JSU game, but the Gamecocks responded in a big way to score five runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth and take a commanding 9-2 lead. In the big inning, JSU got a two-run triple from Sloan, RBI singles from Hayley Sims and Emil Woodruff and an RBI double from Chambers.
Senior Taylor West (8-4) earned the win for JSU, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing two runs on just for hits and a pair of walks. The Anniston native struck out three. Gillespie pitched two innings in relief, striking out one and allowing just one baserunner on a hit batter. She retired the last six batters she faced in the game.
SIUE 2, BELMONT 1; BELMONT 8, SIUE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Haley Chambers-Book picked up her third win of the week and the 13th of the season Sunday as SIUE and Belmont split in Ohio Valley Conference softball at Cougar Field.
SIUE closed out the weekend with a 25-6 record with a 3-1 mark in OVC play. Belmont is now 25-8 with a 2-2 record in OVC action.
Chambers-Book struck out seven and yielded just three hits in game one of Sunday's action. For the week, the Cougar left-hander recorded 32 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched that included a no-hitter against Tennessee State and a perfect game for six-plus innings against Kansas.
SIUE's offense provided two runs for Chambers-Book. Sarah Lopesilvero doubled home Kalei Kaneshiro in the second inning. Tess Eby doubled home Alyssa Heren for the eventual game-winner in the third inning.
Heren, the Cougars' leadoff hitter, collected nine hits this week and has reached base in each of her last eight games.
In the nightcap, SIUE starter Emily Ingles allowed one baserunner in the first 3 2/3 innings, but Belmont strung together some offense for three runs in the fourth, including a two-run single by Jordan Spicer.
Belmont added five runs on five singles in the fifth off Ingles and reliever Ashley Koziol. Koziol closed out the game by retiring the last eight batters she faced.
Back-to-back doubles by Chambers-Book and Zoe Schafer provided a single tally in the fourth inning. Lopesilvero added a solo home run, her first of the season, in the fifth inning.
MURRAY STATE 5, MOREHEAD STATE 1; MOREHEAD STATE 4, MURRAY STATE 2
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State softball team began the OVC portion of its schedule Sunday with a doubleheader split against Morehead State at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers walked off with a grand slam by Jocelynn Rodgers for a 5-1 win in the opener, however the Eagles scored four runs in the seventh to rally past Murray State in game two.
Game 1 – Murray State 5, Morehead State 1
Ellen Barrett scored Morehead State’s only run of the game in the second when she belted a home run over the wall in left field. The Eagles’ lead held until the fifth when Brenna Finck launched her second home run of the season to center field, tying the game at one.
Morehead State had a chance in the top of the seventh after Hannah Murphy singled and advanced to second, but could not plate her thanks to solid defense by the Racers. In the bottom of the seventh, Murray State loaded the bases with two outs on walks by Brenna Finck and Lexi Jones and a single from Kristen Bialek. Following Jones’ walk, Rodgers brought all runners home with the second walk-off grand slam of her career to give the Racers a 5-1 win.
Jessica Twaddle was 1-for-1 in the game with two walks, while Finck was 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Mason Robinson gave up just one run on four hits in the game with a strikeout to move to 16-4 on the year.
Game 2 – Morehead State 4, Murray State 2
In game two, Twaddle gave Murray State an early 1-0 lead with an RBI-single in the first. The Racers added to the lead in the fifth when Finck, who reached on a single, scored her second run of the game on a ground out by Taylor Odom.
Murray State led for the entire game until the seventh when the Eagles began the inning by putting the first four runners on base on three hits and a walk. Lindsay Ward tied the game at two with a double to center field, before Taylor Wheeler plated the go-ahead run on a triple. Wheeler herself scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Allison Rager to make it 4-2 Morehead State. In the bottom of the seventh, Megan Tymorek sat the Racers down in order to give her team the come-from-behind win.
Twaddle once again led Murray State in the game by going 2-for-2 with a RBI. Haven Campbell allowed four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and three walks over 6.0 innings in the circle to take the loss for the Racers and fall to 8-5 on the year. Ellison Barrett closed out the game for Murray State and allowed no runs and no hits over one full inning.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 7, AUSTIN PEAY 3; EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.- The Eastern Kentucky University softball team opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a doubleheader sweep of Austin Peay on Sunday afternoon at Cheryl Holt Field, winning game one, 7-3, before shutting out the Govs, 1-0, in game two.
EKU (13-16, 2-0 OVC) got on the board first in game one, as junior Johnkyria Alston delivered a two-run single in the top of the first that scored senior Krislyn Campos and freshman Mia Sanchez.
After APSU (11-17, 1-3 OVC) answered with two of its own in the bottom of the first, the Colonels took the lead for good in the top of the second off back-to-back solo home runs from Campos and Sanchez.
Eastern added another run on an RBI single by sophomore Rachel Minogue in the top of the fourth.
After APSU scored in the bottom of the fifth to make it a three-run game, EKU plated two more in the bottom of the seventh to put the game away.
Senior Alex Sallberg (6-7) hurled a complete game for the Colonels, going seven innings and allowing only three runs on six hits. She struck out five batters.
Campos and Sanchez combined to go 6-for-7 with six runs scored and two RBI at the top of Eastern’s lineup.
Freshman pitcher Mollie Paulick (4-5) delivered a virtuoso performance in EKU’s game two victory. The native of Centerville, Ohio rolled through a one-hit shutout, while striking out 11 batters. Paulick now owns a 1.26 ERA and batters are hitting just .174 against her.
Campos played the role of offensive hero in game two. The senior came through with a two-out RBI single in the top of the fifth that scored Kelly Wood and gave Paulick all the run support she needed.
Paulick was two outs away from a no-hitter. APSU notched its only hit of game two with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
Wood finished game two 2-for-3 with the game-winning run.
UT MARTIN 6, TENNESSEE TECH 5; UT MARTIN 10, TENNESSEE TECH 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Offense was not a problem for the University of Tennessee at Martin softball team on Sunday afternoon, outscoring Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech 16-7 on the day en route to a series sweep on the road. The Skyhawks squeaked out a 6-5 victory in the first game before posting a 10-2 win in the second half of the doubleheader.
Fresh off of snapping one of the OVC’s longest winning streaks in league history on Saturday, the Skyhawks (23-8, 3-1 OVC) capped off its strong start to conference play with a road sweep at Tennessee Tech. The offense would explode in the contest, tallying 20 hits on the afternoon while driving in 13 RBIs.
The junior pair of Aeron Smith and Jodie Duncan paced the Skyhawks with four hits on the day while Lauren Myers tallied three. Myers swung the big bat on the day, hitting a grand slam while driving in six RBIs. Smith also drove in four runs of her own while Savannah Dodson also posted a multi-RBI contest with two.
Three different pitcher saw action for the Skyhawks led by the play of senior Brooke Kennedy (10-2, 2.99 ERA). Kennedy picked up a complete game victory in the second game of the day while notching a critical save in the early game. For the day, Kennedy allowed two earned runs while striking out four in 8.1 innings of work. Freshman Seeley Layne (3-1, 3.00 ERA) also picked up a victory, allowing two earned runs in five innings of work. Sara Hooten also tossed 0.2 innings of relief.
Game 1: UT Martin 6, Tennessee Tech 5
Neither team would get in the scoring column until the fourth inning when UT Martin would break the scoreless tie. Three consecutive singles by Duncan, Rachel Williams and Smith would load the bases, setting up Dodson with a prime opportunity to score some runs. Dodson would play it smart, working a full count into a walk, scoring the first run of the day. With the bases still loaded, Myers notched an opposite field single through the left side to score Williams on the play and give the Skyhawks a 2-0 lead.
Tennessee Tech would look to trim the deficit in the bottom half of the inning. Gabby LaSala would lead off the inning with a double to right field before eventually coming around to score on a RBI groundout by Alyssa Richards to cut the margin in half.
The Golden Eagles would eventually tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning on a solo home run to left by Aalia Bivens.
With the game tied once again, both teams would post big innings in the sixth. The Skyhawks would start the high-powered sixth as Williams reached safely on a fielding error before Smith moved her classmate into scoring position with an infield single. With two runners on, Carly Gonzales would draw a walk to load the bases for Myers once again. With the bases juiced much like in the fourth inning, Myers would come through in the clutch by driving a grand slam to right field to put the Skyhawks on top 6-2.
Down once again, Tennessee Tech looked to answer in the bottom half of the inning. A leadoff error would plague the inning as a double by Bayli Cruse put a pair of runners in scoring position. With runners on second and third, a wild pitch would bring home a run before a sacrifice fly later in the inning scored Amity Brown. The Golden Eagles would creep closer with a solo home run by Raegan Sparks to trim the margin to one run but Kennedy would enter the game and notch her first save of the season to seal the 6-5 victory for UT Martin.
Game 2: UT Martin 10, Tennessee Tech 2
UT Martin would jump out to an early lead in the top of the second inning. Alli Fulcher would start the scoring inning with a one-out single to eft center before an error and a hit-by-pitch would load the bases. With the bases full of potential and just one out, Smith would single into right center to score a pair. Dodson would follow that up with a single of her own, this time through the left side to score Williams and give UT Martin an early 3-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks would strike again in the top of the fourth inning to push their lead out to five runs. A leadoff single by Duncan would start the inning before moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Another Tech error would prove costly as Dodson reached on an outfield error and scored pinch runner Alicia Hansen on the play. The inning would continue as Gonzales then drove in Dodson on the following play with a RBI single of her own.
Tennessee Tech finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Three consecutive singles – two of the bunt variety – would start off the inning with Kelsey Kennedy’s knock scoring Halli Davis. The Golden Eagles would add on another as a bloop single by Gabby Perez into left field scored Callen Griffin to make it 5-2 heading into the sixth inning.
UT Martin looked for more insurance runs down the stretch in the sixth inning. Duncan would lead off the inning with a walk before moving into scoring position on a wild pitch. A bunt single by Dodson would bring Duncan around to score following yet another error. Later in the inning with runners on second and third, Myers single to left field to score Dodson and make it a five-run margin.
The Skyhawks would pad their margin in the top of the seventh inning with three additional runs. The junior duo of Duncan and Williams both doubled to start the inning’s scoring trend. After a pitching change, Smith would welcome the new hurler with a single up the middle to score two more runs and bring the game to its final score