SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 8, @Tennessee State 0
Southeast Missouri 11, @Tennessee State 1 (6)
@Belmont 7, UT Martin 0
UT Martin 4, @Belmont 1
Murray State 7, @Eastern Illinois 0
Murray State 7, @Eastern Illinois 4
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, TENNESSEE STATE 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, TENNESSEE STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (24-7, 2-0) opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 8-0, 11-1, doubleheader sweep of Tennessee State (5-12, 0-2) Saturday.
SEMO ran its winning streak to 12 games and swept TSU for the fifth-straight year.
Haley Thogmartin and Alexis Estes combined on a five-hit shutout in game one. The shutout marked SEMO's seventh of the season seventh of the season.
Mykaela Arellanes drove home the game's first run on a triple down the third base line right after Claudia Gallo doubled to center. Arellanes scored when Sarah Messex laid down a sacrifice bunt to put SEMO ahead, 2-0, in the top of the third inning.
The Redhawks blew the game open with four runs in the fifth.
Gallo walked, stole second and scored on a single by Messex. Arellanes, who reached on a single, touched home when Rachel Anderson hit into a fielder's choice. Messex scored on the throw before Ashley Ellis hit a sacrifice fly to plate Anderson giving the Redhawks a 6-0 lead.
Parker Bandy hit a two-RBI infield single with two outs in the seventh to cap the 8-0 win.
SEMO had 12 hits with 10 players getting at least one. Arellanes went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI, and Gallo finished at 2-for-2 with two runs scored to lead the Redhawks. Anderson had a hit, scored and collected three of the SEMO's season-high eight stolen bases. Anderson scored the 100thrun of her career.
Thogmartin (10-3) picked up her 10thwin of the season. The 2019 campaign is the second year in a row where Thogmartin recorded 10 wins. She sruck out six walked one and gave up four hits in five scoreless innings.
Rachel Rook struck out four, walked one and allowed just one hit in the final two innings.
SEMO matched a season-high 14 hits and limited TSU to only two hits in the nightcap.
Ahead, 2-0, after three innings, the Redhawks pulled away for good with four runs in the fourth.
Kaylee Anderson hit a two-RBI double and Bandy singled home a run to widen SEMO's lead to 6-0.
K. Anderson drove in another run as part of a two-run fifth inning and the Redhawks tacked on three more runs in the sixth to bury the Tigers.
R. Anderson, K. Anderson and Barnouski eached had two hits to lead SEMO. K. Anderson also chipped in a game-high four RBI. Gallo and Bandy scored twice apiece, as well.
Alexis Estes (7-1) worked five innings, allowing only one run and one hit, while striking out two.
Jessina Espinoza (0-2) suffered the loss. Espinoza gave up six runs on seven hits and walked one in 3.1 innings.
SEMO racked up 15 stolen bases in the doubleheader.
BELMONT 7, UT MARTIN 0; UT MARTIN 4, BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a series split against league foe Belmont on Saturday afternoon, falling 7-1 in Game 1 before recovering in Game 2 with a 4-1 road victory.
The Skyhawks (19-11, 1-1 OVC) were led offensively by the play of sophomore Paige Clark who went 4-for-8 on the day with a double and two stolen bases. Meanwhile, junior Aalia Bivens and Gracyn McBride both tallied multi-hit performances while the pair joined freshmen Kallie Pickens and Kenna Garst with RBIs.
Belmont 7, UT Martin 1
Belmont jumped out to an early lead in the first game of the series, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second and never looked back. A RBI single by Brooklin Lee scored the first run of the game before a RBI groundout and a double down the left field line gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead.
The game would remain a three-run margin until the Bruins blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth. A pair of singles led off the inning before a three-run home run by Audrey Lyle highlighted the inning. The game would see its final run score on a unique inside-the-park home run by Baylee Cook to cap the game’s 7-0 scoring output.
Hannah Ridolfi (4-4) was credited with the loss after allowing three earned runs in 1.1 innings of work. Caitlin Karo appeared in relief, striking out four but allowing four earned runs in 4.2 innings.
UT Martin 4, Belmont 1
After being shutout in the first contest of the day, UT Martin looked to strike first in the opening inning of Game Two. A fielding error gave the Skyhawks extra life to set up a single up the middle by McBride to bring home the game’s first run.
Belmont responded by tying the game in the bottom of the second inning. A leadoff double spelled trouble before a single to left by Bailey Sims knotted the game at one.
With the game tied once again, the Skyhawks fought back in the top of the third inning to retake the lead. The Skyhawks would begin the frame with a single to left by Garst before coming home on a single up the middle by Bivens to give the visitors the lead. Another run would score later in the frame as the Bruins walked Pickens with the bases loaded to bring the score to 3-1.
The Skyhawks found a little insurance in the top of the sixth as Garst plated Pickens with a RBI groundout to make it a 4-1 score.
Freshman Erin Gallagher (5-1) put together yet another strong appearance in the circle, striking out four while allowing just one earned run in seven innings of work.
MURRAY STATE 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0; MURRAY STATE 6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball hosted Murray State for their home and conference opener today. The teams played a doubleheader at Williams Field to kickoff OVC play. The Racers shutout the Panther 7-0 in the first game, and came from behind to win 7-4 in the final game of the day.
EIU drops to 9-21 overall and 0-2 in the OVC, while Murray improves to 12-15 overall and 2-0 in the OVC.
The Panthers will be back in action for another pair of games tomorrow with a doubleheader vs. Austin Peay starting at 1 pm.
Game 1
EIU recorded four hits in the first game of the day as they struggled to find their groove. The Racers tallied 13 hits leading to a 7-0 win.
Murray's first two runs came in the top of the third inning to go up 2-0. Jensen Strigel scored for the Racers on a double to right center from Lillie Goetz. Goetz scored the second run of the inning on a single from Lexi Jones.
The Racers added another five runs in the sixth inning highlighted by another big hit from Goetz. She hit a hard single through the right side of the field to tally her second RBI of the game. She finished 2-of-3 from the plate, while Lindsey Carroll finished with a team-best three hits.
Mia Davis, Breya Cooper, Kendyl McKeough, and Mady Poulter all recorded a hit for the Panthers.
Hannah James gets the win on the mound for the Racers improving to 7-7 on the year. She also finished with seven strikeouts. Jade Montgomery falls to 3-11 for the Panthers.
Game 2
Haley Mitchell had a big game at the plate for EIU in game two of today's action. She finished 3-of-4 with two RBI and one run scored in the Panthers 7-4 loss.
EIU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after three innings. Davis homered in the first inning to score her and Hannah Cravens. Mitchell followed suit in the third with a solo home run to right field.
The Racers would take a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. Madison Culver hit a two-run homer in the fourth to bring the Racers back into the game. Mitchell singled to right field in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game 4-4.
Leah Kesel scored the game winning run on a single by Sierra Gilmore and the Racers would add another two runs to beat the Panthers 7-4 completing the sweep on the day.
Davis finished 2-of-3 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored, while four other EIU players each tallied one hit. Culver and Gilmore each finished with two hits apiece for Murray.
McKenna Coffman falls to 2-7 on the mound. Ellison Barrett improves to 2-1, while Hannah James picks up her first save of the year.