FRIDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 6, Mississippi Valley State 1
Southeast Missouri 8, Bryant 0 (6)
Missouri State 8,
Murray State 0
#14 Oklahoma State 7,
Murray State 3
Austin Peay 3, Bradley 2
SIUE 4, Indiana 1
Boise State 7,
SIUE 1
@Southern Miss 7,
Jacksonville State 1
Belmont 4, Youngstown State 3
Belmont 13, Indiana State 5
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Southeast Missouri (11-3) opened the Mississippi State Bulldog Slamboree with a pair of victoried Friday. The Redhawks beat Mississippi Valley State (3-12), 6-1, and Bryant University (1-8), 8-0, in six innings.
The Redhawks used two strong complete game pitching performances to key the day.
SEMO jumped on MVSU early by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning.
Austine Pauley walked and Kaylee Anderson reached on an error. K. Anderson stole second and Pauley scored the game's first run on the throw. Rachel Anderson followed with a two-run home run, her third round-tripper of the season.
The Redhawks added one run in each of the next three innings after that.
Pauley hit a solo home run down the right field line in the second. Ashley Emert knocked in Anna Griffin on a sacrifice fly in the third. And, K. Anderson scored when R. Anderson hit into a fielder's choice in the top of the fourth.
MVSU made its biggest threat with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the sixth, but freshman Paytience Holman pitched out of the jam.
Holman (2-2) went the distance allowing just one run on four hits. She recorded a season-high 14 strikeouts and did not allow a walk.
SEMO received another big pitching performance in the nightcap, this time by Rachel Rook.
Rook tossed a one-hit complete game shutout with a career-high 15 strikeouts, her second 10-plus strikeout outing this year.
Only two Bryant hitters reached base against Rook who struck out the side in the first inning and retired 15 of the 20 hitters she faced.
The Redhawks again struck first scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
K. Anderson knocked in a run on a single to right field and Ashley Ellis smashed a three-run home run to put SEMO ahead, 4-0. For Ellis, it was her team-high eighth homer of the season.
Addison Barnouski's two-run shot keyed a three-run third inning as the Redhawks extended their lead to 7-0. R. Anderson scored the other run with the help of an error.
Kimmy Wallen's run-scoring single up the middle capped SEMO's run-rule victory.
Rook improved to 4-1 this season.
Offensively, SEMO outhit Bryant, 11-1.
R. Anderson and Ellis led the way with two hits each, while Wallen, K. Anderson, Griffin, Rachael Donald, Barnouski, Madison Harris and Danina Marton followed with one hit.
SEMO resumes play at the Bulldog Slamboree Saturday.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, BRADLEY
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – For the second straight game, Austin Peay State University’s softball team wins in an extra inning walk-off, this time at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field on Friday night versus Bradley in the opening day of the Governors Classic, coming away with a 3-2 victory.
The Governors (7-10) after holding the Braves (11-9) off the scoreboard in the top of the 10th inning despite starting the inning under the international tie-breaker, only needed one batter to score the winning run, as Brooke Pfefferle singled up the middle to score Bailey Shorter – but was placed on second to start the inning.
Harley Mullins (3-5) picked up the complete-game win, scattering seven hits over her 10 innings of work, while walking four and striking out a career high seven.
Bradley had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Govs answered back in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice, the first on a Lexi Osowski single and the second on an RBI groundout by Emily Harkleroad.
The Govs would hold that lead until the top of the sixth when Bradley tied the game on a home run.
SIUE 4, INDIANA 1; BOISE STATE 7, SIUE 1
TUCSON, Ariz. - SIUE softball scored four runs in the top of the sixth Friday and bested Indiana 4-1 on the opening day of the Wildcat Invitational.
SIUE, now 11-4 overall, dropped its second game of the day at the tournament with a 7-1 loss to Boise State.
The Cougars earned a big victory over the Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference, using the big inning offensively and an effective outing in the circle from senior Emily Ingles.
Ingles tossed a three-hitter and improved her season record to 6-1. Emily Gooden took the loss for the Hoosiers and fell to 6-6.
Bailley Concatto singled home a pair of runs, and Abby Marlow blasted a two-run homer to account for SIUE's rally against the Hoosiers.
Marlow's home run was her third of the season.
In the second game of the day, Boise State scored one run off Kennedy Lehn in the second inning and didn't score again until the fifth when it broke loose for six runs.
SIUE's offense scattered four hits. Concatto provided another RBI, singling home Lexi King in the sixth inning.
SIUE next faces tournament host and No. 4-ranked Arizona at 6:30 p.m. CT followed by South Dakota at 9 p.m. CT.
SOUTHERN MISS 2, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Jacksonville State softball team dropped a tough 2-1 decision in Friday's series opener at Southern Miss.
The Gamecocks (10-8) entered the game on a four-game win streak and having won eight of their last 10, but they couldn't capitalize on opportunities in dropping the first of a three-game series with the Eagles (13-6).
JSU outhit the Eagles, 9-3, but was 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, stranding 12 runners on base in the one-run loss. Southern Miss used a two-run fourth to account for all of its scoring, with both runs coming in on a walk and hit batter with the bases loaded.
The Gamecocks had runners in scoring position in every inning, but they couldn't get more than one in against the Eagles pitching staff. Double plays ended threats in each the fourth and fifth innings.
The pitching duo of Lexi Androlevich and Reagan Watkins held the Eagles offense to just three hits in their six innings of work. Androlevich (3-2) suffered the tough-luck loss after limiting USM to two runs on two hits and four walks in 3 and 2/3 innings of work. She struck out two and hit a batter.
Watkins held the Eagles scoreless on just one hits in 2 and 1/3 innings of relief work, striking out two and walking one.
Makenna Pierce (4-0) started the game and pitched the first four frames, allowing one run on five hits and two walks. Kaylan Ladner pitched the final three innings, earning the save after keeping JSU off the board on four hits and two walks.
JSU scored first in the fourth, when Jada Terry led off the innings with a walk, moved over on singles from Sidney Wagnon and Keeli Bobbitt and then scored on a Savannah Sudduth single to center.
The Eagles answered in the home half of the fourth, loading the bases on a single and two walks. They tied the game when Heather Hill was hit by a pitch and then took the lead when Kaley Fruge drew a walk.
JSU had multiple runners on in the fifth and sixth and then had a one-out double from Megan Fortner put the tying run in scoring position in the seventh, but the Gamecocks couldn't get that tying run in.
The two teams will finish the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.