FRIDAY SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 4, @Campbell 3
Morehead State 10, @Bellarmine 4
Northwestern State 3,
SIUE 0
Middle Tennessee 7 ,
SIUE 6
@Auburn 1,
Murray State 0
@Auburn 3,
Murray State 1
Tennessee State 10, @Alcorn State 5
Jackson State 1,
Tennessee State 0
Southeast Missouri 6, North Dakota State 2
#24 Arkansas 9,
Southeast Missouri 3
Southern Miss 7,
@Jacksonville State 3
Southern Illinois 4,
Austin Peay 1
UAB 3,
Eastern Illinois 1
EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, CAMPBELL 3
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University softball team knocked off Campbell University, 4-3, on Friday afternoon to push its winning streak to five games.
Eastern Kentucky (5-2) wasted no time scoring four runs in the top of the first inning, that ended up being more than enough for right-hander Samantha Reynoso.
Sammi Miller took the first pitch of the game and singled to left field to get things started in the top of the first. Jeanay Riley put the Colonels on the board just two batters into the game taking 1-2 pitch over the right center field fence to give Eastern the early lead, 2-0. Ariyana Miranda reached via error and Jasmine Miller got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out. After back-to-back groundouts, Mollie Paulick doubled to left center field to give the Colonels a 4-0 lead.
Campbell (3-2) answered back in the bottom half of the inning. Claudia Ware walked with one out to get things started for the Camels. A double by Bri Bryant and a single by Kayla Redendall brought home two runs and cut the Colonel lead in half, 4-2.
Reynoso was locked in after that. She tossed five straight scoreless innings, including retiring nine batters in a row.
Paulick came in to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout to get things started. After a double by Delaney McDilda, Reynoso re-entered the circle for the Colonels. Reynoso got a groundout, before Ware doubled home McDilda and cut the EKU lead to one, 4-3.
Reynoso got a fly out to centerfield to end the game.
Riley went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBIs. Paulick went 2-for-3 with one double and two RBIs.
Reynoso (2-0) went six and two-third innings allowing two runs and striking out eight.
Eastern continues its four-game series with Campbell tomorrow with a doubleheader. First-pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. with game two to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
MOREHEAD STATE 10, BELLARMINE 4
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After a slow start to begin today's game, Morehead State softball rebounded in a major way, scoring 10 unanswered runs to seal a victory against in-state rival Bellarmine. With only one extra-base hit, the Eagles (3-2) used excellent base running as a means of driving in runs stealing a season-high six bases.
Freshman Lennon Spicer had her best outing to date, throwing 6.1 innings of relief while striking out seven Bellarmine batters and allowing only two hits. Trinity Spear, Kirya Kingery, and Alexis Strother led the way offensively, driving in eight of the team's 10 runs from the first three spots in the lineup.
The Eagles are back on the field tomorrow for the first matchup in program history against Western Michigan scheduled for 11 a.m. ET with a rematch against Bellarmine set for 3 p.m.
NORTHWESTERN STATE 3, SIUE 0; MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7, SIUE 6
MOBILE, Ala. - SIUE softball waited 355 days between games, and once play restarted the Cougars would go extra innings twice.
Both of the contests, which totaled 18 innings on day one, didn't go the way of the Cougars. SIUE fell to Northwestern State 3-0 in eight innings and Middle Tennessee State 7-6 in 10.
The Cougars have two more games tomorrow at the South Alabama Tournament. SIUE faces Missouri at 3:45 p.m. and host South Alabama at 6 p.m. The tournament closes out Sunday with a rematch against Northwestern State.
Emily Ingles threw seven shutout innings against Northwestern State, but the Demons tallied three in the top of the eighth to pull out the victory.
Jensen Howell earned the win for Northwestern State, striking out nine in eight innings.
SIUE's offense picked up in game two with 17 hits, including three from freshman Ava Bieneman. Six other players (Alana Cobb-Adams, Lexi King, Zoe Schafer, Amber Storer, Mia Haynes and Micah Arps) had two hits.
AUBURN 1, MURRAY STATE 0; AUBURN 3, MURRAY STATE 1
AUBURN, Ala. - Murray State softball opened the weekend with a doubleheader against Auburn to kick off the Tiger Invite in Auburn, Alabama on Friday. Despite holding the Tigers to just four combined runs over the two games, the SEC foe prevailed in both contests earning victories of 1-0 and 3-1 respectively over the Racers on the day.
Game 1 – Auburn 1, Murray State 0
While Murray State held Auburn to a single run on three hits in game one of the afternoon, the Racers fell to the Tigers 1-0 to begin a five-game weekend slate.
Hannah James got off to a fantastic start for the Racers, retiring the first eight Auburn batters while recording a pair of strikeouts through the first three frames.
Jenna Veber took over the pitching duties for the Racers after one batter in the fourth, striking out the first batter she faced, but the Tigers would plate the first score of the contest two batters later courtesy of an Aspyn Godwin RBI double to right field.
Veber would allow just one hit the rest way, but the Racers were unable to generate any offense until the top of the seventh when Lily Fischer broke up Shelby Lowe's perfect game with two outs in the final frame with an infield hit to become the first Racer baserunner of the contest. That would be the extent of the Racer comeback effort, however, as Auburn escaped with a 1-0 victory in game one of the afternoon.
James would be on the hook for the loss in the circle despite allowing just one run on one hit while striking out a pair through three innings of work. Veber also fanned two Tiger batters while surrendering just two hits in three innings of relief.
Game 2 – Auburn 3, Murray State 1
Auburn would be the first team on the scoreboard in game two when they did so in the second inning with an RBI single off the bat Lindsey Garcia. After Kelsey Schmidt scored on a wild pitch, Garcia would score off a Makenna Dowell base hit to give the home side a 3-0 lead through two complete.
The Racers would get one back in the third when a ground ball off the bat of pinch-hitting Jordan Childress resulted in a double play, but would be enough to score Jordan Caple from third as Murray State cut the deficit to 3-1.
While the Racer pitching staff kept the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way, the bats managed just one hit over the remaining innings as Auburn secured a 3-1 victory.
At the plate, Sierra Gilmore, Taylor Jackson, and Chloe Jacque would be responsible for the Racer hits in the ballgame.
The Racers featured three pitchers in the contest, highlighted by Taylor Makowsky tossing one and one-thirds innings in relief in her first appearance of 2021, and Jenna Veber throwing three scoreless frames.
The Racers will be back in action on Saturday for day two of the Tiger Invite which will feature a doubleheader against Jacksonville. First pitch for game one is slated for 9:00 a.m.
SIUE freshman Sydney Baalman took the loss in game two.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, ALCORN STATE 5; JACKSON STATE 1, TENNESSEE STATE 0
VICKSBURG, Miss. - Recap coming soon.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 2; ARKANSAS 9, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Rachel Anderson broke Southeast Missouri career records in hits and walks, and the Redhawks split two games on the opening day of the Razorback Invitational Friday. SEMO beat North Dakota State, 6-2, and fell to #24 Arkansas, 9-3.
Anderson broke her program's all-time hits record and SEMO (1-6) used a six-run sixth inning to pick up its first win of the season over NDSU. She officially broke the record with a leadoff bunt single in the top of the fourth inning. Anderson surpassed Jenny Oermann (1996-99) for the new mark.
Rachel Rook and Paige Vargas were locked up in a good pitcher's duel until all the scoring came in the sixth inning.
SEMO opened the floodgates when R. Anderson started a six-run, five-hit surge with a single through the left side. Anderson stole second and scored the game's first run on a single by Ashley Ellis. Three-straight extra base hits followed, including a two-run home run by Kaylee Anderson, a double by Chelsy Pena and three-run homer by Ashley Emert to grab the Redhawks a 6-0 advantage.
NDSU answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth which started with an inside the park home run by Madyson Camacho. The Bison put up their other run on a RBI-single by Stephanie Soriano to make it a 6-2 contest.
Rook (1-3) earned her first win of the season. She scattered six hits, struck out four, walked none and allowed two runs in five innings. Rook retired the Bison in order in each of the third and fourth frames.
Left-hander Marisa Davis pitched two scoreless innings with a strikeout to close out SEMO's victory.
Both SEMO and NDSU had eight hits and committed an error.
R. Anderson and K. Anderson each went 2-for-4 with a run scored. K. Anderson added two RBI on her first round-tripper of the year. Ellis, Pena and Emert each hit safely and scored, while freshman Abigail Rickermann contributed a hit in her first career start at second base.
SEMO gave Mark Redburn his 150th career win as the Redhawks head coach.
In the nightcap, #24 Arkansas wasted no time getting ahead of the Redhawks.
The Razorbacks put up four runs in the bottom of the first inning and another in the second.
A three-run home run by Audrie LaValley keyed Arkansas' first inning before Braxton Burnside hit a solo home run to give the Razorbacks a 5-0 cushion in the second.
SEMO got on the board in the top of the fourth. R. Anderson singled to right and K. Anderson doubled before Ellis scored both runners on a base hit to left field. Ellis' two-RBI hit narrowed the Razorbacks lead to 5-2.
Arkansas, however, answered with a grand slam by Burnside in the bottom half of the inning. Burnside's second homer of the game increased the Razorbacks lead to 9-2.
Anna Griffin posted her first hit and RBI of the season when she scored K. Anderson on a single to left center in the top of the sixth.
K. Anderson accounted for two of SEMO's five hits against the Razorbacks. She was 2-for-3 with two runs and a double. R. Anderson drew her career record 89th walk in the top of the first inning.
Paytience Holman (0-3) scattered four hits and gave up five runs. Holman also walked two and struck out one in two innings.
The Redhawks resume action at the Razorback Invitational vs. Texas Tech (12:30 p.m.) and Arkansas (3 p.m.) Saturday.
SOUTHERN MISS 7, JACKSONVILE STATE 3
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Recap coming soon.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 4, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Austin Peay State University’s softball team dropped its first game of the season to Southern Illinois, Saturday at Charlotte West Stadium in the opening day of the Coach B Classic, as the Governors fell to the Salukis, 4-1.
The Govs (4-1) and SIU (7-0) traded zeros for four-and-a-half innings, before the Salukis were about to push across a couple of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Austin Peay wouldn’t go down without a fight, with Emily Moore opening the top of the sixth for the Govs with a double to right-center field, advance to third on an infield out and score on a sacrifice fly by Bailey Shorter to cut the deficit to one run, 2-1.
But that would be as close as the Govs would get, with SIU adding two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a home run for the 4-1 final.
Harley Mullins (1-1) took the loss, giving up four runs on six hits, while striking out five and walking three.
UAB 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB scored three runs in the bottm of the fifth as the Blazers stopped Eastern Illinois, 3-1, on the opening night of the UAB Spring Invite.
EIU fell to 7-2 on the season while UAB improved to 5-5.
The Panthers scored the first run of game in the top of the fourth as Hannah Cravens opened the frame with a walk. She would advance to third on an error with Haley Mitchell at the plate giving the Panthers runners at first and second.
EIU would place runners at the corners after Mia Davis reached on a fielders choice. Amber Cieplinski then delivered an RBI double to center that scored Cravens and moved Davis up to third. EIU’s next batters in the order were set down to end the Panthers scoring threat.
Jade Montgomery sat the Blazers down in order in the bottom of the fourth and looked strong to that point in the start. In the fifth, UAB was able to break through, tying the score at 1-1 with back-to-back doubles by Faith Hegh and Olivia Valbak. Jolie Readeaux gave UAB the lead with a single that scored Valbak. Jenna Olszewski followed with a single with Readeaux coming around to score on an EIU error for an insurance run.
Parker Conrad entered to pitch the final three innings for UAB allowing one hit with five strikeouts to improve to 1-0. Montgomery was tagged with the loss falling to 3-2 on the year.
Hegh was the only player on either team with multiple hits going 2-for-3 to lead the Blazers as they had six total hits.
EIU was held to four hits with Cieplinski’s double and singles by Morgan Lewis, Mia Davis and Abby Taylor.