WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Dayton 2,
@Eastern Kentucky 0
@Eastern Kentucky 4, Dayton 1
@Jacksonville State 2, Kennesaw State 0
@Jacksonville State 7, Kennesaw State 6
@Middle Tennessee 4
, Belmont 3 (8)
@Alabama 6,
SIUE 4
SIUE 3, Niagara 1
DAYTON 2, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0; EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, DAYTON 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team split a doubleheader with Dayton on Wednesday in the Colonels’ home opener at Gertrude Hood Field, losing game one, 2-0, before bouncing back to take game two, 4-1.
Sophomore right-hander Bethany Todd (1-0) – a transfer from the University of Kentucky – earned her first win as a Colonel in game two, pitching a complete game and limiting Dayton (8-10) to only three hits.
Hannah Heraty put the Flyers up early in game two, blasting a solo shot to left center in the top of the second. However, Todd settled in after that early hiccup and kept the visitors at bay the rest of the way.
In the meantime, the EKU offense finally came to life. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, sophomore Mattira Morales delivered a clutch, two-out, two-run home run to left that scored freshman Gabriela de la Cerda and gave the Colonels their first lead of the day.
One inning later, the Colonels delivered with two down again. This time, it was senior Hannah Clark who crushed a two-run homer to left center, plating junior Melissa Jacobsen and handing Eastern a pair of insurance runs.
Olivia Lessman (0-2) received the loss for Dayton in game two, going four innings and surrendering two runs on two hits.
Game one was a pitchers’ duel between EKU junior right-hander Mollie Paulick and the Dayton duo of Jessica Gilliam and Jessica Weaver.
The game was scoreless until the final inning, when the Flyers staged a two-out, two-run rally to escape with the victory.
Paulick (3-4) tossed all seven innings, allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out six.
Weaver (3-3) earned the win for Dayton, coming on in relief in the fifth inning and stifling the Colonels to only one hit over the final 2.1.
Senior Destinee Lizzmore paced the Colonels at the plate in game one, going 2-for-3 with a double.
EKU (8-9) left nine runners stranded in the loss.
The Colonels now head to Wilmington, North Carolina for a five-game tournament this weekend.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 4, BELMONT 3
MURFFREESBORO, Tenn. - After battling back from an early deficit, Belmont Softball forced extra innings before a decision fell on Wednesday evening on the road. The Bruins (12-7) were edged by in-state rival Middle Tennessee State (14-11), 3-2.
MTSU jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning, using a bunt to push the runner over the plate. After a quiet second frame, the Bruins sprang into action in the top of the third. Senior Taylor Hargrove (Greenbrier, Tenn.) took advantage of a fielding error to reach first base. Classmate Baylee Cook (Lewisburg, Tenn.) reached on four balls before a hard hit ball by senior Hayley Baker (Rockwall, Texas) was unable to be handled effectively, allowing the first run to cross the plate. She went on to take second base on the throw, putting the two in scoring position. Sophomore Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) followed, hitting a blooper over the third baseman's head to send Cook over the plate, to give Belmont the 2-1 lead.
The Bruins held onto their narrow lead through the fifth frame. The Blue Raiders were successful in narrowly regaining the lead, 3-2, using a pair of singles and a double. Belmont made moves in the top of the seventh inning to regain control of the contest using a walk and a sacrifice bunt to get senior Cameryn Strother (Chesapeake, Va.) into scoring position. Cook stroked a single straight up the middle to send her over the plate to knot the score, 3-3, before advancing to second on the throw.
Sophomore Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas) joined her on base with the help of four consecutive balls, forcing the Blue Raiders to make a change inside the circle that was just enough to keep BU from taking the lead. MTSU was unable to produce in their half of the seventh and the teams went into extra innings for the decision.
In the Bruins' half of the eighth, senior Chelsea Thomas (Hot Springs, Ark.) had a leadoff single down the left line and was quickly joined on base by junior Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) who was hit by a pitch. Unfortunately, Belmont was unable to get either over the plate sending the stalemate into the bottom of the eighth frame still tied up. The Blue Raiders wasted little time chasing the game winning run. MTSU opened with a double and a walk before a long single to right field sent a runner over the plate, giving the home team the narrow, 4-3, victory.
For the day, Thomas went 2-for-4 to lead BU. Cook, Strother and Hargrove each posted a run in the effort.
Inside the circle, Veltri threw the entire seven innings for the Bruins.
BU returns to action this weekend at E.S. Rose Park, hosting the Belmont Invitational, March 15-17
JACKSONVILLE STATE 2, KENNESAW STATE 0; JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, KENNESAW STATE 6
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State rode a dominant pitching performance by Faith Sims early and then rallied late to sweep a red-hot Kennesaw State team in the Gamecocks' return to University Field.
More than one year since the Gamecocks (13-6) played in its home stadium, they returned to a renovated University Field that was severely damaged by an EF-3 tornado that rolled through Jacksonville on March 19. In that Homecoming, JSU handed an Owls (15-13) team that rolled into town riding a 10-game win streak a 2-0 defeat in the opener before coming from behind to win a 7-6 thriller in the nightcap.
Sims had a big hand in both wins. The senior from Cordova, Ala., tossed a two-hit shutout of the Owls to set the tone for the day. She struck out 10 and walked just two in a dominant win that moved her record to 8-1 on the season. In the second game, head coach Jana McGinnis turned to her ace in the seventh with one out to get and the tying run at first. Sims closed the door for her first save of the year.
She wasn't the only hero in a red jersey on Wednesday. Freshman Karsen Mosley drove in all the offense JSU would need in the first game on a line drive home run that cut through a 15-mph wind that was blowing in and plated the only two runs of the game.
In the second game, senior Amber Jones drove in three runs in a 2-for-4 outing. The first two pulled JSU back to within a run in the third and the last cut its deficit back to one in the fifth and set up the game winner from freshman Bailey Smart.
Smart was sent to the plate to pinch hit with two outs and the bases loaded and laced a two-run single into center that scored Jones and pinch runner Hannah Brown to turn a one-run KSU lead into the Gamecocks' first advantage of the night.
Sophomore Nicole Rodriguez (3-3) earned the win in the circle for JSU in the second game. After allowing a leadoff home run to the first batter she faced in the fourth, she held the Owls scoreless on three hits over the next 3 and 2/3 innings to set up Sims for the final out.
Sims got the best of KSU starter Hailey Andrews in the pitcher's duel to open the day. Andrews (7-7) held JSU to two runs on five hits in her complete game, striking out five and not issuing a walk.
The Gamecocks continue their homestand on Saturday, when they start a three-game series vs. Jacksonville University. The two will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday.
ALABAMA 6, SIUE 4, SIUE 3, NIAGARA 1
HONOLULU – SIUE softball split a pair of games Wednesday, defeating Niagara 3-1 and dropping a 6-4 decision to No. 4 Alabama.
The Cougars stand 8-8 after two nail-biting games at the Rainbow Wahine Classic.
SIUE opened the day against the Tide, taking a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning behind a two-run single by Zoe Schafer and an RBI single by Kalei Kaneshiro.
Alabama, which remained the lone team in the country at 26-0, needed three pitchers to dispatch the Cougars.
SIUE put Alabama pitchers on the defensive but left a season-high 12 runners on base. Sarah Cornell picked up the win for the Tide by closing out the fourth inning and is now 10-0. Montana Fouts hurled the final three innings and earned her second save.
Alyssa Heren, who is hitting .490 through 16 games and has continued to make top-level plays in the outfield, agreed with Jones.
After Alabama pulled ahead with a three-run rally in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth, the Cougars made a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the seventh. Micah Arps was credited with an RBI in the inning on a fielder's choice but the Cougars left two runners on base.
Corrina Rivas took the loss in relief of Emily Ingles.
In Wednesday's second game, Ingles and Rivas once again combined with a better result this time, holding Niagara to seven hits. Ingles would improve to 5-3 while Rivas threw the final 2 1/3 innings for her second save.
SIUE jumped on the scoreboard first with a single tally in the fourth. SIUE's Jill Niehaus scored on a wild pitch by Niagara starter-loser Sierra Bertrand.
Kaneshiro made it 2-0 Cougars in the fifth, delivering a RBI single up the middle that drove home Heren.
Rachel Funk helped Niagara, 0-8, avoid the shutout in the sixth with her first home run of the season.
SIUE added an insurance run in the seventh as Conner Cutright singled home Arps.
Two more games are scheduled for Thursday with slightly different times. SIUE faces No. 4 Alabama at 8:30 p.m. CT followed by a 10 p.m. CT matchup against Hawaii. The Cougars play Niagara once more