SUNDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 7, Wright State 1
Murray State 8, Drake 0
Eastern Illinois 3, Winthrop 1
Tennessee State 4, Alcorn State 1
@North Alabama 3,
Tennessee State 2 (8)
@Chattanooga 9,
Austin Peay 1
Austin Peay 4, @Chattanooga 1
@Kennesaw State 12,
Jacksonville State 0 (5)
Eastern Kentucky 5, @Mercer 4
UT Martin 9, Grambling State 1
TENNNESSEE TECH 7, WRIGHT STATE 1
MACON, Ga. - Three home runs in the fifth inning on Sunday helped propel the Tennessee Tech softball team to a 7-1 victory over Wright State to close out the Mercer Invitational.
With the win, the Golden Eagles (4-1) win their fourth straight game and put together the best five-game start since the team went 5-0 en route to a 15-0 start in the 1997 campaign.
Freshman Nicolle Nysted led Tech at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Her three-run blast came in the fifth after Raleigh Lewis hit her fourth home run of the weekend with a solo shot to right. After Nysted’s round-tripper, junior transfer Shelby Penning knocked out her first Tech career dinger with one to left center.
The outburst came an inning after the Golden Eagles took their first lead of the contest. Trailing 1-0 through three frames, Paxton Grimes took a walk, then Nysted was hit by a pitch. Raegan Sparks came on as a pinch hitter and drove in Grimes with a single to right. Nysted later scored on a wild pitch.
Haeli Bryson (2-1) picked up her second straight win after a victory Saturday against Dayton. Against the Raiders, Bryson allowed one run on seven hits, yielding one walk and recording a personal-best five strikeouts.
Her counterpart, Olivia Otani, took the loss in relief, allowing seven runs on five hits, walking two and striking out none. Starting pitcher Makenna Duriex went three full scoreless frames, walking none and striking out two. Carly Turner pitched the final 2 1/3, yielding three hits and striking out three.
Tech returns to action on Friday as it travels to the Chattanooga Challenge. The first opponent is Indiana State with first pitch slated for 10 a.m. Central.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, WINTHROP 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eastern Illinois played its final game at the Samford Tournament this morning against the Winthrop Eagles. The Panthers sweep Winthrop on the weekend as they win 3-1 today against the Eagles.
The Panthers improve to 4-1 on the season as they head to Troy, Ala., for the Troy University Tournament. The last time the Panthers have had a winning record coming out of the first tournament of the year was in 2017.
The Freshman Taylor Florea gets the start for the Panthers at pitcher as she strikes out the first two batters and Mia Davis catches the final out in the first to send the Panthers to the batter's box. Hannah Cravens gets a double but the Panthers are unable to get any more offense in the first.
In the third, Bear gets a base hit and steals second. The Panthers have back to back doubles by Cravens and Davis to score two to put Eastern up 2-0. Haley Mitchell has an RBI single to score Davis from second, Panthers up 3-0.
Winthrop was able to get a run across the plate in the fifth as Bear ends the inning with a catch in center field and a throw to home to tag the runner out, Panthers up 3-1. In the sixth inning senior Jade Montgomery takes over on the mound for the Panthers as she ends the game with three total strikeouts as the Panthers win 3-1.
They Panthers head to Troy, Ala., on Saturday (Feb. 15) to take on Kennesaw State and Troy and on Sunday (Feb. 16) the Panthers face Purdue Fort Wayne and Southern Mississippi.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5, MERCER 4
MACON, Ga. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team knocked off host Mercer University 5-4, on the final day of the Mercer Invitational.
Mercer (1-4) got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. A leadoff walk by Allie Jones got things started for the Bears. Jones advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt by Amanda Schwartz. Jones came home to score on a RBI groundout by Bree Comer to give Mercer the 1-0 lead.
The Colonels answered back in the third.
Sammi Miller got things started with a single and Zoe Mihalicz reached on a throwing error by the Bears. With runners on second and third and two outs, Carly Robinson sent a 3-2 pitch over the right center field fence to give the Colonels a 3-1 lead.
Eastern (3-1) tacked on insurance runs in the top of the fourth. With two outs in the inning, Melissa Jacobsen took a 2-1 pitch into the right center gap to bring home Gaby De La Cerda and push the Colonel lead to 4-1. Miller followed suit with a RBI single up the middle and Eastern led 5-1 after three and half innings.
Mercer did not go down without a fight though.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Abby Walsh got things started with a leadoff triple down the right field line. Jones brought her home with a RBI single to cut into the Colonel lead, 5-2. With runners on the corners and one out, Jones stole home to creep closer to Eastern, 5-3. Micayla Rod brought in another run with a RBI single down the left field line to make the score 5-4, after six innings.
Mollie Paulick sat the Bears down in order in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win and her first save of the season.
Bethany Todd (2-0) picked up her second win of the season tossing four innings, allowing one run and striking out three batters.
Miller went 3-for-3 with one RBI on the game. Robinson chipped in 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBIs. Isabella Gonzalez went 2-for-3 on the game.
The Colonels hit the road next weekend for the Winthrop Tournament. Eastern takes on host Winthrop on Friday at 3 p.m.
KENNESAW STATE 12, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
KENNESAW, Ga. - A big second inning doomed the Jacksonville State softball team in a loss to Kennesaw State in the final game of the Owls' Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament on Sunday.
The Owls (4-0) scored eight runs in the second inning to pull ahead and then held on for a 12-0 win, their second over the Gamecocks (1-2) over the opening weekend of the 2020 season at Bailey Park.
KSU managed 12 runs on 12 hits to complete a perfect weekend in its home tournament. The Owls scored in every inning to earn their second win of the day.
JSU scattered five singles in the game, with junior Keeli Bobbitt going 2-for-2 to lead the way. Sophomores Savannah Sudduth, Maddie Clay and Kaley Warren each recording a hit in the game.
Peyton Elzey (1-0) earned the win for the Owls, holding JSU scoreless over five innings of work. She struck out one and didn't issue a walk.
Sophomore Hannah Brown (1-1) suffered the loss for JSU, surrendering four runs on three hits and three walks in over one inning in the circle. Junior Nicole Rodriguez allowed five runs on three hits and a pair of walks in a third of an inning, while redshirt-freshman Macy Bearden tossed the final 2 and 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits.
The Gamecocks will return to action on Friday, when they start the Coastal Carolina Battle at the Beach in Conway, S.C. JSU will face Delaware State at 11:45 a.m. CT to start things off.
MURRAY STATE 8, DRAKE 0
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Muray State softball closed the weekend in style on Sunday, cruising to an 8-0 six-inning victory over Drake at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Racers' third triumph of the weekend would also be head coach Kara Amundson's 200th win since taking over the program in 2013 as Murray State went 3-2 on opening weekend at the Doc Halverson Classic.
Jensen Striegel set up the first run of the ballgame, stealing third before scoring on a pitch that got by the Bulldog catcher as the Racers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. The junior from Floyds Knobs, Indiana would create problems for the opposition once again in the Racer half of the fifth when she began the inning with a leadoff base hit, and then came around to score by way of a Lindsey Carroll RBI-single as the Racers stretched the lead to 2-0. Carroll would make her way around the bases as well, scoring from third off a fielder's choice from Jenna Bleiberg later in the frame as the Racer lead grew to three runs through their half of the fifth.
Sophomore Hannah James got the nod in the circle for Murray State and faced the minimum 12 batters through her first four innings of work, refusing to surrender a hit until the fifth inning when the Bulldogs finally singled for the first time in the contest.
The Racers were not satisfied with a three-run cushion, however, and went on to break the game open in the sixth. An RBI-single from Sierra Gilmore to score Lily Fischer got things going, but it would be Lexi Jones who cleared the bases via a three-run home run to give her side a 7-0 advantage. Back-to-back doubles from Jenna Bleiberg and Tyler Shemwell meant another Racer score, as Murray State put the pressure on Drake after a five-run sixth put the Racers in front 8-0.
The Bulldogs could not muster a run in the bottom half, and the game would see an early ending with the Racers running away with their final game of the weekend by a score of 8-0.
As a team, the eight Racer runs came from five extra-base hits and eleven hits overall, while effective pitching and a solid defensive effort translated into just three hits for the opposition.
Hannah James hurled her second complete-game shutout of the season, issuing just one free pass while recording a strikeout to earn the win.
Offensively, Logan Braundmeier (2-3, 2B, R), Lexi Jones (2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), and Jenna Bleiberg (2-3, 2B, RBI, R) posted two-hit performances to fuel the Racers to victory.
The Racers return to action at the Lady Demon Classic, which begins Friday in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
UT MARTIN 9, GRAMBLING STATE 1
HAMMOND, La. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team posted a season-high nine runs to cap off the final day of the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic with a 9-1 victory over Grambling State on Sunday afternoon.
The Skyhawks (3-2) tallied 10 hits on Sunday afternoon while the team's pitching was impressive once again. For the weekend, UT Martin posted a .258 batting average as a team behind six hits by Shyanne Sheffield while the pitching staff notched a team ERA of 1.18.
Three players tallied multiple base hits as Sheffield, Kaitlyn Kelly and Kallie Pickens each posted a pair of base knocks. Pickens paced the team with three RBIs while Paige Clark drove in a pair out of the leadoff spot. The trio of Kenna Garst, Madelyn Dycus and Chayse Skinner also tallied RBIs.
Erin Gallagher (2-1) picked up her second win of the weekend after striking out five and allowing just one earned run in five innings of work. Hannah Ridolfi appeared in relief, allowing one hit in the sixth.
UT Martin struck first in the top of the second with three runs to take an early advantage. The Skyhawks capitalized on some sloppy play, plating three runs on a pair of errors while the trio of Dycus, Skinner and Clark were credited with RBIs.
A double into left center by Clark scored Garst in the top of the fourth inning to make it a 4-0 lead for the Skyhawks. Grambling State responded by getting the run back in the bottom half of the inning as Rike Miller launched a solo home run to left.
The fifth inning saw the Skyhawks score another run on a fielder's choice RBI by Garst. The Skyhawks then put the game away with four runs in the top of the sixth inning as Pickens cleared the bases with a three-run double to left before coming around to score herself on a single by Maddi Long.
UT Martin will make its home debut on Thursday, Feb. 13 with a doubleheader against Green Bay – weather permitting. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
CHATTANOOGA 9, AUSTIN PEAY 1; AUSTIN PEAY 4, CHATTANOOGA 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University rallied with a four-run fifth inning to defeat Chattanooga 4-1 in Game 2 of their doubleheader at Jim Frost Stadium Sunday afternoon after dropping the opener, 9-1, in five innings.
Bailey Shorter would tie the game 1-1 on an RBI single, with Brett Jackson pushing across the go-ahead run with an infield out.
Lexi Osowski would then closeout the games scoring with a two-run homer to make it 4-1.
Shelby Harpe would get the complete-game win, scattering seven hits in stranding 11 UTC runners, while walking four and striking out five.
In Game 1, UTC jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and extended that lead out to 5-1 after three innings before the Govs got on the board on an RBI by Brooke Pfefferle.
UTC would close out the game with a four-run fifth for the 9-1 final.