WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 3, @Saint Louis 1
@Jacksonville State 7, Alabama State 3
@Western Kentucky 4,
Murray State 1
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SAINT LOUIS 1
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (39-15) tied its NCAA Division I era record for most wins in a season when it beat Saint Louis (15-31), 3-1, for its 39th victory Wednesday.
SEMO tied the 1996 team for most wins in a season during the school's NCAA Division I tenure (since 1992). The 1996 club went 39-9 overall.
The Redhawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Ashley Ellis reached on an error and went to second on a bunt single by Addison Barnouski. Kaylee Anderson advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt and Ellis later scored on a wild pitch.
Sarah Messex led off the third inning with a solo home run to left field for her seventh round-tripper of the season. Messex's bomb ran SEMO's single-season record to 64 home runs in 2019. Claudia Gallo ripped a one-out triple to right center and touched home when Rachel Anderson grounded out to push the Redhawks lead to 3-0.
Sadie Wise delivered a two-out single to bring home Kat Lane for SLU's only run in the bottom of the fifth.
Haley Thogmartin (18-6) tossed four scoreless innings allowing three hits, striking out four and walking one. Rachel Rook added two quality innings with five strikeouts before Kaylee Anderson picked up her third save of the season. Anderson struck out two of the three hitters she faced.
With their 11 strikeouts today, SEMO's pitchers set a new single-season record. The Redhawks total of 279 strikeouts in 2019 surpassed the previous mark of 273 in 2009.
Barnouski went 2-for-3 with half of SEMO's hits. Gallo and Messex accounted for the others.
SLU finished with five hits, two of which came from Wise.
SEMO hosts Morehead State in its final games of the regular season Saturday. First pitch of a doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m., CT, at the Southeast Softball Complex. If the Redhawks sweep the Eagles, they will earn a share of this year's Ohio Valley Conference regular season title.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, ALABAMA STATE 3
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State closed its regular season with a 7-3 win over Alabama State on Wednesday at University Field.
Seniors Anna Chisolm and Taylor Beshears kickstarted the Gamecocks (34-13) in the third inning and then drove in a combined five runs, while Faith Sims grabbed her 21st win with four shutout innings of the Hornets (20-22).
Sims (21-4), the team's senior ace, started the game and allowed just one hit. The Hornets' got a two-out infield single from Alexis Massie that was the first hit off of Sims since April 19. It snapped a streak of 23 and 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing a hit for the Cordova, Ala., native, who was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA D1 National Pitcher of the Week after throwing two no-hitters last week.
She struck out five and walked just one and extended her streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 30 and 2/3.
JSU threatened early but couldn't get on the board until the third, when an RBI single from Beshears and a three-run homer from Chisolm put the Gamecocks up 4-0. Chisolm went the other way and drove one over the wall in left center for her 13thhomer of the year, tying Beshears for the team lead.
A Beshears sac fly and an error off a Chisolm grounder that scored two more in the fourth made it a 7-0 JSU lead.
The Hornets got three in the fifth, starting with a two-run, pinch-hit homer from Marina Clark, her first of the season. A throwing error from relief pitcher Reagan Watkins allowed another to score in the fifth.
Nicole Rodriguez pitched the final 2 and 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two to close the door on the win.
Justine Jean (9-12) suffered the loss for Alabama State after allowing four runs on six hits in three innings of work.
The Gamecocks will turn their attention to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament from May 8-11 at Choccolocco Park in Oxfordm Ala. JSU has clinched at least a share of the regular season title but must wait for other games around the league this weekend before learning its seeding in the event.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 4, MURRAY STATE 1
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Racers paid a visit to Bowling Green, Kentucky to take on the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University in a single game on Wednesday evening. Murray State's final non-conference contest of the 2019 season would end in defeat after early scoring from the home side propelled WKU to a 4-1 victory to begin the month of May.
The Hilltoppers would be the first team on the scoreboard when a two-out infield single from Jordan Vorbrink scored a run in the opening frame. In what would have been the third out, Sierra Gilmore came up just short in an extraordinary diving effort to snag a soft line drive as WKU took a 1-0 lead after one inning of play.
Western Kentucky added three more in the following inning when Maddie Bowlds sent a 1-1 offering over the wall in right center with two runners on base to give her side a 4-0 advantage through two innings of action.
The Hilltoppers would carry that lead all the way to the top of the sixth, when Murray State would see their first run of the ballgame cross the plate when Denise Teague drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in Sierra Gilmore. Unfortunately, the Racers were unable to push across any additional runs as they would still be chasing three through the visiting half of the sixth.
In a game that saw just 10 combined hits, the contest would not see another run as the Racers fell to the Hilltoppers by a final score of 4-1.
Hannah James turned in 4.2 impressive innings in the circle, allowing just one hit while striking out a pair and not surrendering an earned run in her relief appearance for the Racers.
At the plate, Lillie Goetz (1-3, 2B, BB) would reach safely twice for Murray State and be responsible for the lone Racer extra-base hit of the ballgame.
Murray State will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Edwardsville, Illinois to take on the Cougars of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader will mark the end of the regular season schedule for the Racers, who have already clinched a spot in this year's OVC Tournament in Oxford, Alabama the following week.