FRIDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 3, @UT Martin 2
Austin Peay 4, @UT Martin 1
@Southeast Missouri 7, Morehead State 0
@Southeast Missouri 9, Morehead State 0
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 2; AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team honored its four seniors on Friday afternoon before the final doubleheader of the regular season against Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay. The Skyhawks paid their respects to the quartet of Jessie Douglas, Alli Fulcher, Gracyn McBride and Shelby Woodard prior to the game while a pair saved some fireworks for their final homestand.
The Skyhawks (29-26, 10-12 OVC) finished the regular season by dropping their final doubleheader to Austin Peay by scores of 3-2 and 4-1. Despite the final results, UT Martin saw a pair of its key contributors over the previous four years leave Bettye Giles Field on a high note. A pair of solo home runs by seniors McBride and Fulcher ranked as each player’s respective 23rd career home run which ranks eighth in program history.
UT Martin saw each of its three runs on the day come off the long ball as the trio of McBride, Fulcher and freshman Kallie Pickens recorded solo home runs in the doubleheader. Fellow senior Shelby Woodard also tallied a base hit on the afternoon to wrap up her career at home.
All four pitchers saw action in the circle in the doubleheader. Hannah Ridolfi (8-10) and Lexi Ray (8-8) were credited with losses, as each allowed three earned runs on the day. Sophomore Caitlin Karo tossed two-thirds of an inning while freshman Erin Gallagher allowed one run in two innings.
Austin Peay 3, UT Martin 2
The first game of the day proved to be a pitcher’s duel until the fifth inning when Austin Peay finally broke onto the scoreboard. After a pair of singles to start the inning, Danielle Liermann smoke a line drive off the center field wall to score the pair and take a 2-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks would respond in the bottom half of the inning as Pickens turned on the first-pitch she saw and smoked it off the deck in left center for her third home run of the season. UT Martin would not be done however, as the McBride made it back-to-back solo shots with her eighth home run of the season to left field to tie the contest.
The Governors answered in the top of the sixth as Morgan Rackel laced a double down the left field line to leadoff the inning. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, she later came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Brooke Pfefferle which proved to be the game-winner.
Austin Peay 4, UT Martin 1
Much like in the opener of the doubleheader, neither team got out to a quick start until the Skyhawks struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning. With the game still in a scoreless tie, Fulcher launched her eighth home run of the season to left center to put the Skyhawks on top 1-0.
The lead would be short lived however as Austin Peay answered in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game. Kacy Acree reached on a fielder’s choice before promptly swiping both second and third base to move into prime scoring position. From there a single through the left side by Carly Mattson knotted the game at one run apiece.
The Govs would land a pair of blows in the top of the sixth inning which proved to be the knockout punch for the Skyhawks. A leadoff single by Lexi Osowski began the frame before a Kelsey Gross turned on a pitch for a two-run home run off the scoreboard in left field. With the lead in hand, the Govs added another run in the inning to put the game out of reach off a RBI single by Acree to seal the 4-1 victory.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7, MOREHEAD STATE 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, MOREHEAD STATE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (41-15, 17-5) swept Morehead State (2-41, 0-20) in a doubleheader with a pair of 7-0, 9-0 shutouts and earned a share of the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title on its home field Friday night.
SEMO finished the regular-season with a new program-record 41 victories and will await its seed for the eight-team OVC Tournament which begins in Oxford, Alabama next week.
The Redhawks tied Jacksonville State at the top of the OVC standings for a piece of their first regular-season title since 1999.
Sarah Messex went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI to propel the Redhawks' game one victory. Then, Rachel Rook pitched a perfect game with a career-high 12 strikeouts in a remarkable five-inning performance in the nightcap.
SEMO used a big five-run fourth inning to key its first win over the Eagles.
Ahead, 1-0, the Redhawks had four hits in their surge. Rachel Anderson led things off with a triple to right field, her team-high ninth of the season. Addison Barnouski flied out to right and Anderson scored. Kaylee Anderson followed with a single to left field and pinch-runner Mackenzie Long touched home. On the next play, Messex launched a two-run home run to left center. R. Anderson, during her second trip to the plate in the inning then walked with the bases loaded and Rachael Donald scored to extend SEMO's lead to 6-1.
An inning later, Messex hit her second home run, this time opposite field to right with two outs. That home run, which marked her ninth of the year, buried the Eagles.
Haley Thogmartin (19-6) and Alexis Estes combined on the one-hit shutout. Thogmartin struck out four and walked none, while Estes added one strikeout in two scoreless frames.
SEMO had nine hits, with Messex, R. Anderson and Mykaela Arelleanes getting two apiece.
Rook retired all 15 hitters she faced in game two of the twin bill. She struck out the first eight MSU hitters of the contest as her 12 strikeouts are the most by any Redhawk pitcher this season.
Offensively, SEMO gave her plenty of run support and scored five of its nine runs in the bottom of the first inning.
A couple MSU errors figured into the scoring, along with a RBI-single by Claudia Gallo and RBI from R. Anderson.
Ashley Ellis, who had three doubles in the doubleheader, drove in R. Anderson and who singled home another run to increase SEMO's lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the second.
Two more runs followed courtesy of a R. Anderson home run with one out in the fourth. For R. Anderson, it was her 12th round-tripper.
Rook improved her record to 9-3.
SEMO collected nine hits in the nightcap, three by Ellis, all of which were doubles. R. Anderson contributed two hits and four RBI, while Messex had two stolen bases.