MONDAY SCORES
@North Alabama 10,
Tennessee State 2
@North Alabama 6,
Tennessee State 3
Eastern Illinois 9, @Southern 0
Eastern Illinois 10, @Southern 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, SOUTHERN 0; EASTERN ILLINOIS 10, SOUTHERN 0
BATON ROUGE, La. – Eastern Illinois softball unloaded offensively for the second straight day as the Panthers swept a Monday series at Southern University ending each game in five innings by run rule. EIU opened with a 9-0 win before closing with a 10-0 win at Lady Jags Stadium.
EIU improved to 4-0 on the season as the Panthers have allowed only one unearned run through the opening four games of the season. Southern fell to 0-7 on the year.
In the opener Jade Montgomery improved to 2-0 on the season as she worked five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. She would allow just one hit and two total base runners in the contest.
EIU provided all the offense Montgomery would need in the first inning with a four spot against Southern starter Aubrion Alexis James (0-2). Megan Burton and Morgan Lewis led off the game with back-to-back singles. Mia Davis would drive home the first run before Hannah Cravens cleared the bases with a 3-run home run.
The Panthers added to the run total with an RBI double by Burton in the second and RBI double by Lewis in the fourth. EIU tacked on two runs in the fifth with the final run on a sacrifice fly by Burton. Lewis led EIU in the opener with three hits.
EIU continued to dominate Southern’s pitching staff in the second game scoring four runs in the first and four runs in the third to blow open the game. Cravens added to her RBI total for the day with a run scoring double while Abi Stahlhut drove in two more runs with a single to right center in the first.
Three of the first four Panthers that stepped to the plate in the third connected for solo home runs with Amber Cieplinski, Cravens and Aniya Holt all going deep. It was Cravens fourth home run of the season as the Panthers have hit ten in four games. Cravens and Lewis each had two hits in the night cap to lead EIU’s offense.
Valerie Thompson was sharp in the circle picking up the win in her first appearance of the season. Thompson pitched four innings allowing one hit with four strikeouts. Olivia Price closed out the game with a scoreless fifth. Annelise Corona suffered the loss for Southern.
NORTH ALABAMA 10, TENNESSEE STATE 2; NORTH ALABAMA 6, TENNESSEE STATE 3
FLORENCE, Ala. - The Tennessee State softball team opened the 2021 season by dropping both ends of a double header to North Alabama. The Tigers took to the field for the first time in over 11 months, falling 10-2 in five innings and 6-3.
Bri Vire, Renae Spears and Ivory Jones collected three hits a piece on the day to pace TSU. Jones hit her first career home run and drove in three runs, while Spears enjoyed her Big Blue debut finishing 3-for-5 at the plate.
The Tigers struggled defensively on the day, committing six errors leading to eight unearned runs in game one and two more in the night cap leading to three unearned scores.
Game one starter, Lauren Powell surrendered five runs through three innings before giving up a hit. The sixth-year senior tossed 3.2 innings and was touched for 10 runs, two earned, on four hits and three walks.
In game two, Raven Loveless gave up six runs, three earned, on seven hits and two walks. Both Powell and Loveless were tagged with losses on the day.
The Tigers will square off with the Lions on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. to close out the three game series.