SUNDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 10, IUPUI 1 (5)
DePaul 2,
Belmont 1
Southeast Missouri 6, Maine 2
Southeast Missouri 2, Kansas 1
UT Martin 3, Maryland 2
Tennessee State 9, Savannah State 1
Tennessee State 8, Delaware State 7
Bradley 7
, @Tennessee Tech 6
Bradley 11
, @Tennessee Tech 1
@Austin Peay 9, North Alabama 1
North Alabama 4,
@Austin Peay 0
Northern Iowa 10,
@Murray State 7
@Murray State 4, Samford 1
USC Upstate 8,
Eastern Illinois 0
Eastern Illinois 13, Colgate 4
SIUE 5, Utah 2
BELMONT 10, IUPUI 1; DEPAUL 2, BELMONT 1
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After a missed day of competition due to heavy rains and thunderstorms, Belmont Softball (12-6) came out swinging for the final day of the UofM Tournament on Sunday. The Bruins picked up a victory in five innings over IUPUI (5-18), before being edged by DePaul (17-5), 2-1.
The Bruins jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the opening frame. Sophomore Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas) reached first on four balls and advanced to second on a ground out before back-to-back singles from sophomore Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) and senior Chelsea Thomas (Hot Springs, Ark.) pushed a pair of runners over the plate. The Jaguars were held silent until the top of the third inning where they posted a single run to cut the Belmont lead in half. BU repeated its earlier scoring effort in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) singled and was moved to second with a sacrifice bunt by senior Sami Long (Springfield, Ill.). A error helped junior Bailey Sims (Flowery Branch, Ga.) put runners on the corners before a single up the middle by senior Hayley Baker (Rockwall, Texas) sent the two Bruins over the plate, to go up 4-1.
Belmont exploded in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the game away for good. Back-to-back singles from Thomas and freshman Audrey Lyle (Westlake, Ohio) opened the door for a single up the middle by Sims that sent the pair over the plate. Senior Baylee Cook (Lewisburg, Tenn.) followed with her own single to put runners on the corners before Baker unleashed a base clearing, three-run homer to secure the 10-1 win.
Game two saw the Blue Demons first to strike the scoreboard, sending two runners over the plate in the top of the first inning. DePaul maintained its two run advantage for the next three innings before the Bruins were able to make a mark in the bottom of the fourth frame. On the first pitch presented, Cook knocked the ball over the left fence to cut the DPU lead in half, 2-1. BU attempted a rally in the bottom of the sixth, getting a runner all the way to third but could not get her over the plate. The Belmont defense worked intensely to keep DePaul from adding to its run tally in the waning innings but was unable to find a way to notch an equalizing run, falling by the same score.
For the day, Cook batted .667 with four hits, a homerun and a pair of RBI.
Inside the circle, three Bruins saw work. Lee threw a complete game against IUPUI, fanning nine batters to pick up the win. In the nightcap versus DePaul, junior Brittany Kennett (Melboune, Australia) and Veltri split time. Kennett logged a season-best six strikeouts in the effort.
Belmont returns to action on Wednesday with a trip to in-state rival Middle Tennessee State. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. start.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, MAINE 2; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2, KANSAS 1
LAWRENCE, Kan.– Mykaela Arellanes and Ashley Ellis each had four hits and Southeast Missouri (17-7) received two strong starts from Alexis Estes and Haley Thogmartin en route to picking up two more wins in the final day of the Jayhawk Classic Sunday.
SEMO beat Maine, 6-2, and rallied in the top of the seventh inning to edge Kansas, 2-1. The Redhawks won the four-team Jayhawk Classic with a perfect 5-0 record.
The Redhawks, who are on a five-game winning streak, won 10 of its last 12 contests.
Estes set the tone from the get-go allowing only two hits in 5.1 scoreless innings against Maine.
SEMO took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning where Arellanes hit a leadoff single to left center and came around to score with the help of a throwing error. Rachel Anderson stepped in and blasted a home run to straightaway center giving the Redhawks a 2-0 advantage.
Arellanes came up again in the fourth and laid down a nice bunt single to score Mackenzie Long with two outs in the fourth.
With runners on second and third and no outs in the top of the fifth, Ellis singled up the middle allowing both Sarah Messex and Anderson to score.
SEMO tacked on one final run on an infield hit by Brooke Rheinecker in the seventh inning to polish off the win.
Estes, who improved to 4-1 this season, struck out four and walked one in her sparkling performance.
The Redhawks tallied nine hits. Arellanes went 2-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI and Ellis finished at 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead the way. Messex, Anderson, Addison Barnouski, Rheinecker and Rachael Donald followed close behind with one hit each.
Defensively, Maine committed three errors for the day.
For the second time in three days, SEMO took down Big 12 Conference member Kansas on its home diamond.
Thogmartin and Brynn Minor hooked up in a nice pitcher's duel as the game keeping the game scoreless through five-and-a-half innings.
Thogmartin retired the first 11 hitters she faced and did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, a two-out single by Madison Sykes.
A native of St. Louis, Thogmartin gave way to Rachel Rook in the sixth after keeping the Jayhawks off the scoreboard for five innings.
KU then took a 1-0 lead on a one-out double by Sykes. Sykes's hit landed in the right center gap and pinch-runner Macy Omli scored.
In their final at-bat in the seventh, the never-say-die Redhawks got two quick baserunners when Kaylee Anderson was hit by a pitch and Arellanes reached on a bunt single. After Messex popped up to right field, Arellanes stole second. With runners on second and third, R. Anderson singled and Arellanes scored to tie the game. Jayhawks left fielder Emily Bermel bobbled the ball on the play and Rheinecker scored the winning run on the error.
After giving up an infield single to start the bottom of the seventh, Rook retired the next three hitters to slam the door on the Jayhawks.
Rook (5-2) earned her fifth win of the season. She struck out one, gave up three hits and allowed a run in two relief innings.
Minor (2-9) fell to her ninth loss. She went the distance giving up two runs on five hits. Minor struck out five and walked two, as well.
Ellis (2), Arellanes (2) and R. Anderson combined for SEMO's five hits against KU.
For the tournament, Ellis hit .563 with nine hits, four runs scored, a double, two home runs, five RBI and four walks. She also boasted a 1.000 slugging percentage and .650 on-base percentage.
At 17-7 overall, SEMO is off to its best start through its first 24 games since 1998 (18-5-1). The Redhawks 17 victories are presently the most in the Ohio Valley Conference.
After playing outside of Cape Girardeau for its first 24 games this season, SEMO welcomes Missouri State for its home-opener on Mar. 14. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., CT, at the Southeast Softball Complex.
UT MARTIN 3, MARYLAND 2
DELAND, Fla. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team scored three unanswered runs in the sixth inning to push past Big Ten foe Maryland 3-2 in the final day of the Stetson Invitational on Sunday morning.
Along with winning the final game of the tournament, senior Alli Fulcher and sophomore Paige Clark were named to the All-Tournament team. Fulcher tallied five hits on the weekend with two home runs and four RBIs while Clark recorded six hits and a pair of RBIs.
The Skyhawks (12-10) closed out their five-game tournament appearance with a nice victory. UT Martin would struggle offensively for much of the contest before ultimately scoring three runs in the sixth inning despite tallying just two hits on the day.
Maryland jumped onto the scoreboard in the top of the third inning with a RBI single by T. Okada. The lead would remain at one run until a solo home run by T. Wilson gave the Terrapins a 2-0 advantage in the top of the sixth.
UT Martin finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning. An error, a plunked batter and a walk would load the bases. The Skyhawks then capitalized on the opportunity as Haylee Short drew a five-pitch walk to plate the team’s first run. A RBI groundout by Gabbi Campbell then tied the contest before a wild pitch brought home Aalia Bivens to give the Skyhawks their game-winning run.
Freshman Erin Gallagher got the start but no decision, allowing two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. Gallagher would strike out three while allowing six hits and three walks before being relieved in the sixth inning. Sophomore Caitlin Karo (2-2) appeared in relief to allow just one hit in 1.1 innings to record her second win of the season.
UT Martin will return to action next weekend when playing host to the Skyhawk Hampton Inn Classic beginning on Friday, March 15
AUSTIN PEAY 9, NORTH ALABAMA 1; NORTH ALABAMA 4, AUSTIN PEAY
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s softball team took advantage of big first inning in Game 1, Sunday at Joe and Cathi Maynard Stadium-Cheryl Holt Field, on its way to defeating North Alabama 9-1, before dropping the nightcap, 4-0.
The Govs (12-11) sent 12 batters to the plate in the opening inning of Game 1, collecting five hits and four walks, scoring seven of those runners.
Highlighting the opening inning was Baily Shorter, who went 2-2, with a home run and an RBI single.
Kacy Acree also drove in two with a single, while Kelsey Gross, Drew Dudley and Brooke Pfefferle also drove in runs.
North Alabama (11-6) would score its lone run in the top of the third inning, while Morgan Rackel closed-out the game’s scoring for APSU with a two-run homer in the fourth for the 9-1 final.
Rackel (8-5) also picked up the win in the circle, throwing the complete-game three-hitter, striking out five.
Game 2 was a different story for the Govs, as they only managed two singles and a walk versus the Lions, with Kelly Mardones (3-5) taking the hard-luck loss with all four runs given up being unearned.
BRADLEY 7, TENNESSEE TECH 6; BRADLEY 11, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - After a month on the road, the Tennessee Tech softball team finally came home, hosting Bradley in a doubleheader. But while the first game was a back-and-forth affair, the second game was marred by a 10-run inning for the visiting Braves, leading Bradley to take the set 7-6 and 11-1 in five innings.
In all, the Golden Eagles yielded five home runs to the Braves on the day – three in the opening game and two in the nightcap.
Tech’s record falls back to .500 at 8-8, while Bradley improved to 11-10.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday as they host Evansville at 3 p.m. for a single contest.
In game one, Bradley took the early lead on a leadoff home run to right on the third pitch to Lucy Mead, but Tech claimed the advantage in the bottom half of the frame as Raleigh Lewis drilled a two-run home run to left field.
The Golden Eagles extended their lead in the fourth. Hallie Davis led off with a single to left center, then Leigh Ellen Thomas knocked down a single into right center. Beth McCulley drilled a single down the left field line, loading the bases. Kayla Hughes came in as a pinch-hitter and reached on a fielder’s choice as they tried unsuccessfully to get Davis at home.
Then Sydney Love-Baker cleared the bases with one swing, launching a ball into right field. The sophomore kept a fast pace the whole way, sliding into third as Thomas, McCulley and Jessie Lowery – returning to the lineup for the pinch-hitting Hughes – scored on the play.
Tech’s lead, however, was chipped away. Bradley added two runs in the fifth on a two-run home run for Stacie Seeton. The Braves then scored two more in the sixth as Mead put a two-run single through the right side of the field, tying the game at six.
Bradley then took the lead in the seventh as Allison Akpe hit a leadoff home run in the frame. Tech left one on in the bottom of the frame.
Alyssa Arden went 4 1/3 innings in the start, allowing four runs on five hits as she walked one and struck out two. Haeli Bryson (2-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs in the final 2 2/3 innings on eight hits, while striking out one.
For Bradley, Emma Jackson went 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits, walking four and striking out one. Megan Mahaffy earned her third win of the season as she yielded just three hits, while striking out one.
In the second game, Tech was held to three hits – two for McCulley and one for Hughes, which also drove in the Golden Eagles’ only run in the fourth inning.
Hughes took the loss, allowing eight runs – seven earned – on nine hits, walking three and striking out two in four complete innings and entering the fifth. Callie Piper closed out the frame, yielding three runs – none earned – on three hits and two walks, while striking out one.
Bradley scored one run in the second as Kealie Wysocki hit an RBI double to center field. Tech tied the game in the fourth with Hughes’ double to left center, scoring Love-Baker.
But in the Bradley fifth, the flood gates opened. The Braves struck for 10 runs on eight hits and two errors in a rally that included two home runs – a pair of two-run shots for Apke and Jillian Navarro.
Facing a 10-run deficit, the Golden Eagles were only able to collect a single hit in the bottom of the fifth, enacting the run rule.
Bradley’s Grace French earned the win in relief, allowing just one hit in 1 2/3 innings. Starter Julie Kestas went 3 1/3 innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits while walking and striking out two.