WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 8, @Morehead State 2
SIUE 12, @Morehead State 4
Austin Peay 10, @Tennessee Tech 0
Austin Peay 8, @Tennessee Tech 1
@Kentucky 10
, Eastern Kentucky 2 (5)
@Tennessee 8,
Tennessee State 0
@Tennessee 15,
Tennessee State 2
SIUE 8, MOREHEAD STATE 2; SIUE 12, MOREHEAD STATE 4
MOREHEAD, Ky. - SIUE softball gained a road doubleheader sweep Wednesday, besting Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State 8-2 and 12-4 in six innings.
The victories give SIUE a .500 record in OVC play at 7-7. The .500 mark vaults the Cougars into a three-way tie for sixth place in the OVC with Belmont and UT Martin, who both are 8-8. SIUE is now 15-20 overall.
Morehead State dropped to 0-14 in OVC play and 2-33 overall.
Corrina Rivas picked up the win in both games and both in relief of starting pitchers Emily Ingles and Bianca Vozenilek. Rivas improved to 8-9 overall.
Wednesday's games were more about the Cougars' offense, which collected 24 hits in the doubleheader. SIUE also scored in nine of 13 innings played. The games were delayed nearly four hours from the start time due to field conditions.
SIUE never trailed Wednesday beginning with two runs in the second inning of game one. Sammie Ofoia walked and was replaced by pinch runner Janie Smith. After Smith's 12th stolen base of the season, Bailley Concatto ripped a first-pitch single to right field to drive home Smith. Concatto moved to second on a passed ball followed by a single by Conner Cutright.
Reagan Curtis provided the big bat of game one with a triple off the top of the fence in left field. She later homered to left field in the sixth inning.
Game two was more of the same for the Cougars. SIUE jumped out early with three runs in the first off RBIs hits from Zoe Schafer, Alyssa Heren and Concatto.
In the fourth inning, SIUE muscled up for three home runs. Abby Marlow got it started with a two-run homer to center field that scored Cutright, who had doubled. Alana Cobb-Adams and Schafer later hit back-to-back home runs. Cobb-Adams' blast was to right center. Schafer hit her team-leading sixth home run down the left field line. That also was the 20th of her career, becoming the sixth player in school history to accomplish the feat.
AUSTIN PEAY 10, TENNESSEE TECH 0; AUSTIN PEAY 8, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was a tough day for the Tennessee Tech softball team on Wednesday as the Golden Eagles couldn’t find a way to slow down Austin Peay.
The Governors took both ends of the doubleheader, winning 10-0 in game one, then 8-1 in game two.
In both games combined, the Golden Eagles (18-23, 8-10 Ohio Valley Conference) were held to seven total hits – two in the first game, five in the night cap. Beth McCulley and Jessie Lowery were the only Tech players to hit safely in game one, while Gabby LaSala was 2-for-3 in the second, with Alexis Trimiar, Haeli Bryson and Hannah Richter also picking up base knocks.
Tech couldn’t find much of answer for APSU’s pitching in either contest. Kelsey Gross earned the victory in the first game, earning the complete-game shutout as she walked two and struck out five. Morgan Rackel, one of the leading candidates for the OVC’s Pitcher of the Year award, went the distance in game two, yielding one run on five hits as she walked none and struck out 10.
The Golden Eagles’ lone run came in the second inning of the second game as Bryson drove in LaSala with an RBI single.
In game one, Alyssa Arden allowed seven runs – three earned – on eight hits and three walks as she struck out one over five frames. Callie Piper closed out the contest with the final two innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
The second game saw Bryson give up eight runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out one. Piper came in again for the final 2 1/3, going scoreless as she allowed two hits and two walks, while striking out one.
For Austin Peay (25-18, 10-4 OVC), Kacy Acree and Danielle Liermann drove in four runs each as Acree went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Liermann was 3-for-3 with a run scored. Both hitters drove balls over the fence as Acree hit her sixth homer of the year, Liermann her 15th.
In the second game, Rackel helped her cause with a three-run home run for her ninth round-tripper of the year, while Mattson hit her 10th with a two-run shot in the first. Bailey Shorter also drove in two runs in the contest.
KENTUCKY 10, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team fell on the road to 23rd ranked University of Kentucky, 10-2, on Wednesday night in Lexington.
EKU (26-16, 12-4 OVC) struck first just three pitches into the game. Sammi Miller sent the second pitch of the game to left field for a leadoff single. Destinee Lizzmore sent the very next pitch over the left field fence to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Kentucky (30-18, 12-9 SEC) got one right back in the bottom of the first. Katie Reed sent the 1-0 pitch back up the middle to put a runner on first with one out in the bottom of the first. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Alex Martens singled to left field to bring home Reed and make the game 2-1.
Kentucky pushed six across in the bottom of the second after a pair of home runs to take a 7-2 lead and never looked back.
Abby Cheek hit a three-run home in the bottom of the fourth to take a 10-2 lead and put the run rule into effect.
Lizzmore went 1-for-1 with one home run and two RBIs. Miller went 1-for-2.
Eastern heads west to take on Murray State for a doubleheader on Friday. First pitch is at 4 p.m.
TENNESSEE 8, TENNESSEE STATE 0; TENNESSEE 15, TENNESSEE STATE 2
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State dropped both ends of a double header on Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers fell 8-0 in five innings and 15-2 in six.
Patton Akers led the Tigers at the plate with a hit in each game. Reese Weber and Savanah Wallace collected a hit in game one, while Lauren Farias earned a base knock in the night cap.
Farias delivered a single to center in the fifth inning of game two, which was misplayed by the fielder. Ariel Johnson and Megan Huppee scored on the play giving the Tigers their lone runs on the day.
Huppee was tagged with the loss in game two, while Raven Loveless suffered the loss in game two.