SATURDAY'S SCORES
St. Francis (Pa.) 6,
Tennessee Tech 2
St. Francis (Pa.) 10
, Tennessee Tech 0
@Belmont 2, Valparaiso 1
Valpraraiso 9,
Belmont 1 (5)
@Campbell 8,
Eastern Kentucky 0
Eastern Kentucky 3, @ Campbell 2
Eastern Illinois 6, Alabama State 1
UAB 8,
Eastern Illinois 0
Jacksonville 2,
Murray State 0
Jacksonville 1,
Murray State 0
Ball State 5,
Austin Peay 2
Austin Peay 5, DePaul 0
Western Michigan 6,
Morehead State 1
Morehead State 8, @Bellarmine 6
Southeast Missouri 5, Texas Tech 3 (8)
@#24 Arkansas
6, Southeast Missouri 1
Southern Miss 8,
Jacksonville State 2
Jacksonville State 3, Southern Miss 0
UT Martin 9, Northern Kentucky 6
Missouri 6,
SIUE 1
South Alabama 6
, SIUE 5
Tennessee State 4, Grambling State 1
Tennessee State 6, @Alcorn State 1
JACKSONVILLE 2, MURRAY STATE 0; JACKSONVILLE 1, MURRAY STATE 0
AUBURN, Ala. - Murray State softball would clash with Jacksonville for a pair of contests in Auburn, Alabama on Saturday. The Racers were held scoreless in the doubleheader, dropping both games to the Dolphins by scores of 2-0 and 1-0 respectively on day two of the Tiger Invite.
Game 1 – Jacksonville 2, Murray State 0
Jenna Veber tossed three scoreless innings in the circle for the Racers to open the contest as the sophomore from Oswego, Illinois earned the start in game one of the day.
Lily Fischer was hit by a pitch and Sierra Gilmore drew a walk to lead off the fourth for Murray State, while an ensuing sacrifice bunt from Lindsey Carroll moved the runners to second and third with just one out to give the Racers a golden chance to plate the first run of the day. Jacksonville's Alyssa Bilodeau escaped the frame without any damage, however, as she set the next two Racer batters down on strikes to keep the game scoreless through the visiting half of the fourth.
The Dolphins would make Murray State pay for not capitalizing on the opportunity, as Jacksonville opened the scoring in the bottom half when a ground ball off the bat of Madison Kennedy drove in the game's first run.
The 1-0 score line remained unchanged until the sixth, when Kennedy was responsible for a Jacksonville insurance run with a one-out RBI double to right center to give the Dolphins a 2-0 advantage through six.
The final nine Racer batters of the competition were retired in order, as Jacksonville earned a 2-0 triumph in game one.
Lily Fischer's first-inning double would be the only hit of the ballgame for Murray State.
In addition to the three scoreless innings from Veber, the Racers got an inning from Taylor Makowsky and two more from Hannah James with both giving up a single run on three hits apiece in the contest.
Game 2 – Jacksonville 1, Murray State 0
Game two would be a similar story as the Racer pitching staff held the Dolphins to just two hits, but the offense fell short as Jacksonville squeaked out a 1-0 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Hannah James dealt four scoreless innings, striking out five while allowing just one hit in her appearance in the circle for the Racers.
The lone run of the contest came in the bottom of the fifth when Madison Kennedy capped a productive day at the plate with a one-out solo home run to left field.
The Racers would have runners on second and third with just one out in the sixth, and then load the bases with two outs later in the frame, but Murray State could not push across the game-tying run.
Lexi Jones (2-2) would collect the only MSU hits of the ballgame.
The Racers will be back in action to close out the Tiger Invite on Sunday with a single game against IUPUI in their final tune-up before OVC competition. First pitch is slated for 11:00 a.m.
UT MARTIN 9, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 6
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team capped off its weekend appearance at the Tennessee Invitational on Saturday morning with a 9-6 victory over Northern Kentucky.
The Skyhawks (6-2) tallied eight hits on the day behind multi-hit mornings from the pair of Paige Clark and Chelsey Gore. Sophomore Kaitlyn Kelley also continued her hot play by belting her fourth home run of the season and third in the last three games. Fellow sophomore Kenna Garst also tallied two RBIs in the contest to help lead the team.
Erin Gallagher earned the start but suffered a bumpy appearance, lasting just 3.2 innings while allowing six earned runs. Senior Hannah Ridolfi (2-0, 1.95 ERA) appeared in relief and was lights out, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed for the win.
UT Martin jumped out an early lead in the bottom of the first inning as Kelley continued her hot streak by cranking a home run in her third straight game. After the first two batters were retired, Kallie Pickens worked a walk before Kelley turned on a 3-1 pitch and launched it over the left field wall to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks would add another run in the bottom of the third inning after a leadoff double by Clark was followed by a single by Shyanne Sheffield. Two batters later Clark would score from second on an error to give UT Martin a three-run lead.
Northern Kentucky answered in the top of the third inning with four runs of its own to cut the margin and take its first lead. The Norse big hits came from Jenna O'Hair who drove in the first run with a single through the right side before Ava Lawson tripled to right center to score two more. A RBI groundout by Hailey Whitmer gave NKU 4-3 advantage to close out the frame.
The lead changed hands once again in the bottom of the third as Garst scored Aalia Bivens and Anna Blanton with a two-run single to put the Skyhawks on top 5-4.
Much like the last lead, it would be short-lived as Northern Kentucky charged right back in the top of the fourth with two runs off back-to-back singles by Josie Frazier and O'Hair made it a 6-5 contest.
The score would remain the same until the bottom of the sixth inning when UT Martin took the game's final lead with four runs. The Skyhawks loaded the bases with no outs, setting up Bivens for a RBI opportunity which she cashed in with a sacrifice fly to tie the game up at six runs apiece. UT Martin would add two more runs on RBIs by Clark and Sheffield to make it a 9-6 contest – the game's final score.
UT Martin will now shift its focus to Ohio Valley Conference play with the league opener being played at Bettye Giles Field against Murray State. The three-game series begins on Friday, March 5.
BELMONT 2, VALPARAISO 1; VALPARAISO 9, BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont Softball (3-4) picked up its third walk off win in a row to open its doubleheader with Valparaiso (2-4) on Saturday at Rose Park, winning 2-1. However, the Bruins were held off in the nightcap, faling 9-1 in five innings.
For the day, senior Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas) batted .571 with four hits, one run scored, two doubles, a triple and a pair of RBI.
Fresh off her no hitter, senior Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) notched the win in game one, tallying nine strikeouts over the full seven innings.
BALL STATE 5, AUSTIN PEAY 2; AUSTIN PEAY 5, DEPAUL 0
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Austin Peay State University split its two softball games, Saturday at the Coach B Classic, in Carbondale, Ill., dropping a 5-3 decision to Ball State before rallying for a 5-0 win over DePaul.
In the opener, Austin Peay saw Ball State jump out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and before extending the lead out to 4-0 with a run in the top of the third.
The Govs would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning, with Bailey Shorter reaching on a one-out error by Ball State and scoring when Brooke Pfefferle – who had singled – was caught in a run down.
Ball State and Austin Peay would both score a final run each in the fifth inning, with Lexi Osowski driving in Shorter with a single.
In the nightcap versus DePaul, starting pitcher Kelsey Gross was a one-person wrecking crew for Austin Peay, hitting a three-run homer in the top of the first inning, then in the circle throw a one-hit complete game shutout – while striking out a career high 13 Blue Demon hitters.
The Govs would score its final two runs in the fifth inning, with Brooke Pfefferle and Osowski picking up RBI singles.
CAMPBELL 8, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0; EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, CAMPBELL 2
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University softball team split a pair of contests on Saturday afternoon against Campbell.
Eastern Kentucky (6-3) lost the first game, 8-0, before knocking off the Camels, 3-2, in the second game.
In game two the Colonels had some late inning heroics.
Carly Robinson got things started in the top of the sixth with a one out single to center field. After Zoe Mihalicz got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second, Vianna Barron doubled to left field to score Melissa Jacobsen to cut the Campbell lead in half, 2-1. Mollie Paulick followed with a single to score Mihalicz to tie the game at 2-2 after five and a half innings.
In the top of the seventh inning Sammi Miller tripled on the first pitch she saw to put the go-ahead run-in scoring position with one out. Freshman Kara Gunter delivered with a single to left center to give Eastern its first lead of the game, 3-2.
Campbell (4-3) got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning.
Sterling Hairston got things started with a one out single through the left side. Claire Blount had an infield single to put runners on first and second with two outs in the inning. Delaney McDilda tripled down the right field line to score two and give the Camels the early lead, 2-0.
Tori Peterson (1-0) settled in after that.
The junior tossed a complete game allowing two runs and striking out two.
Miller went 4-for-4 with two triples. Barron chipped in 2-for-3 with two double and one RBI.
Eastern out-hit Campbell 9-5 on the contest.
-
In game one, the Colonels fell 8-0 and could never get anything going.
The Camels scored one in the first and second innings and three in each of the third and fourth innings to take control over the Colonels.
Eastern manufactured one hit on the game.
Eastern wraps up its four-game series with Campbell tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
WESTERN MICHIGAN 6, MOREHEAD STATE 1; MOREHEAD STATE 8, BELLARMINE 6
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Softball came away with a two-game split Saturday, defeating Bellarmine 8-6 after falling to Western Michigan 6-1. The back half of the day's doubleheader marked the second time in as many days that the Eagles (4-3) were able to beat their in-state rival. The loss to WMU represents the only game in the series history between the two schools.
Senior Alexis Strother continues to be a force in the MSU lineup, going a combined 4-for-6 on the day including a perfect 4-for-4 performance against Bellarmine. Peyton Rose, a junior from Versailles, Ky., also had an excellent day at the plate, batting 3-for-6 with two runs, two RBI, and two doubles in the games today.
The Eagles will play in their first game at University Field since March 11, 2020, when they host OVC rival Eastern Illinois at 2 pm ET next Saturday. The home-opening series continues the following day with the front half of a doubleheader set to begin at noon while game two is tentatively slated for 2 pm ET.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, TEXAS TECH 3; ARKANSAS 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Southeast Missouri (2-7) again split two games at the Razorback Invitational Saturday. The Redhawks took down Big 12 Conference member Texas Tech (4-5), 5-3, in eight innings and fell to #24 Arkansas (10-2), 6-3, Saturday.
After TTU tied the game at 3-3 on a two-RBI triple by Karli Hamilton in the bottom of the sixth inning, Rachel Rook came on to shut down the Red Raiders.
Rook (2-3) tossed 2.1 scoreless innings, struck out four and allowed only one hit in her strong relief outing. Left-hander Marisa Davis also pitched well out of the bullpen before giving way to Rook. Davis, although giving up the game-tying triple to Hamilton, struck out three in 2.1 innings.
Once SEMO headed into its at-bat in the eighth, the Redhawks pulled away from TTU for good.
Abigail Rickermann and Rachel Anderson both walk and advanced on a double steal to quickly give SEMO runners at second and third. Kaylee Anderson followed with a single and Rickermann scored. Ashley Ellis stepped in and flied out to left field scoring Anderson on the sacrifice to give the Redhawks a 5-3 edge.
Rook retired the Red Raiders in order during their turn in the eighth to put the finishing touches on SEMO's second win of the season.
The Redhawks held a 2-0 lead until TTU tied things up in the sixth. Ahead 3-2 in the count with two outs, Ellis hit a two-run home run to right center in the top of the first inning. For Ellis, it was her second home run of the season and 36th in her career.
SEMO beat a Big 12 Conference opponent for the second time in three years. The Redhawks last defeated Kansas twice in 2019.
R. Anderson and Katie Dreiling teamed up for four of SEMO's six hits. Anderson was 2-for-3 with a run scored and Dreiling went 2-for-4 with one run scored and a double. Ellis paved the way with three RBI.
Down, 2-0, to nationally-ranked Arkansas after three innings in the nightcap, SEMO took the lead on back-to-back home runs by R. Anderson and K. Anderson.
After Rickermann reached on an error, Rachel smacked a two-run home run over the left field wall. On the next play, Kaylee launched her second homer of the season to right center putting the Redhawks up, 3-2.
The home run claimed SEMO's all-time career RBI record for R. Anderson, who impressively broke three of her program's career records in two days at the Razorback Invitational.
Her 133rd RBI passed both Renee Kertz (132, 2009-12) and Michelle Summers (132, 2005-08) for the new mark. That was in addition to R. Anderson breaking the school's all-time career hits and walks records Saturday.
After four innings of play and SEMO ahead, the game was delayed due to inclement weather.
When play resumed, Arkansas scored one run in the fifth and three in the sixth to get the win.
Rook (2-4) went the distance striking out five and walking three in six innings. She also allowed six runs on eight hits.
Autumn Storms (2-0) picked up the win. Storms struck out seven and walked none in her complete game win.
K. Anderson had two of the Redhawks three hits.
SEMO wraps up the Razorback Invitational against Texas Tech Sunday.
SOUTHERN MISS 8, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2; JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, SOUTHERN MISS 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Nicole Rodriguez struck out 10 batters in a complete-game shutout that helped the Jacksonville State softball team salvage a twinbill split with Southern Miss on Sunday at University Field.
After falling 8-2 in the opening game of the day, the Gamecocks got three early runs and cruised behind Rodriguez's stellar start in the circle, pulling off the 3-0 win over the Golden Eagles (10-3).
Rodriguez was stellar in her first start of the season. The senior from Fort Myers, Fla., tied her career high with the 10 strikeouts, the third time she's reached the mark in her career with the Gamecocks. She scattered six Southern Miss hits and only walked two to earn the win.
The Gamecocks gave her a lead early, scoring two in the first inning. Savannah Sudduth started the frame with her first of three singles in the game and later scored along with Keeli Bobbitt on a Megan Fortner single that gave JSU a 2-0 advantage.
JSU added one more in the second, when Karsen Mosley legged out a bases-loaded, two-out infield single that drove in Caroline Lively and put a 3-0 lead in Rodriguez's pocket.
That would be more than she would need, recording at least one strikeout in all but one inning and had three innings with multiple strikeouts. She struck out the side in the second.
USM's McKenna Pierce (1-2) was tagged with the loss in her start, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits over six innings. She walked five and struck out five.
Sudduth was 3-for-4 at the plate to account for half of JSU's hits, while Mosley and Fortner had the game's only RBI.
Some tough luck for Jacksonville State put the Gamecocks in a 3-0 hole in the second inning of game one. Alexus Jimmerson tried to work around a pair of walks, but a two-out bloop from Karley Nichols found some turf down the left field line and scored two. The Golden Eagles pushed one more across on a fielding error by Megan Fortner at first and put a three-run lead on the board.
JSU got one of them back in the home half of the second on freshman Alex Howard's first career RBI, a single to left center that drove in Lauren Hunt from second. It was Hunt's first of two runs scored in the game.
The Golden Eagles pulled away in the fourth and fifth, scoring one on Karsen Pierce's fourth-inning solo homer and two in the fifth on RBI singles from Maria Smith and Heather Hill.
JSU did score one in the fourth on a two-out RBI single from Jimmerson, but Southern Miss also added a pair in the sixth.
Kaylan Ladner (5-0) earned the win for the Golden Eagles, limiting the Gamecocks to two runs on six hits in seven innings of work. She walked two and struck out one. Jimmerson (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing six runs, five earned, on four hits and seven walks in her five innings in the circle. She picked up two strikeouts.
The Gamecocks will now turn their focus to Ohio Valley Conference play, which will start on Saturday in Nashville with a doubleheader at Belmont. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, ALABAMA STATE 1; UAB 8, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
BIRIMINGHAM, Ala. - Eastern Illinois softball split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon on day two of the UAB Spring Invite.
EIU beat Alabama State in the morning game 6-2, before falling to host UAB 8-0 in the second game. EIU is now 7-3 on the season.
In the opener against Alabama State EIU jumped out in the first with an RBI double by Mia Davis.
The Hornets would tie the game with a sacrifice fly by Jamaica Flowers in the second and take the lead in the third on a home run by Alex Massie. Massie had two hits to lead ASU.
EIU would use the long ball itself in the next two innings to first tie the game and then take the lead. In the fourth, Haley Mitchell became the EIU career home run leader with a solo blast that tied the game at 2-2. Mitchell was 3-for-3 at the plate.
In the fifth, the Panthers would take advantage of an ASU error as Megan Burton had a three run home run to stake EIU the 6-2 lead.
Sydney Cammon pitched 4.2 innings of two hit relief to the pick up the win and improve to 2-0 on the season.
In the second game, it was UAB that took advantage of an EIU error to open up the game during the 8-0 victory.
Leading 2-0 heading into the fourth inning, Jenna Olszewski had the lone hit in a sequence the allowed three unearned runs to score. With two outs in the inning, EIU committed two errors during the span of six batters as UAB increased what had been a 3-0 lead to a 6-0 advantage. The first run of the inning came with pinch runner Makalah Mitchell scoring on a ground out.
The Blazers added two more runs in the fifth to close out the contest. Brooke Burback had a sacrifice fly to drive in the final run.
Olivia Price fell to 1-1 with the loss for EIU. EIU had one hit in the game by Morgan Lewis as Jaycee Cook improved to 2-0 in the circle for the Blazers.
TENNESSEE STATE 4, GRAMBLING STATE 1; TENNESSEE STATE 6, ALCORN STATE 1
VICKSBURG, Miss. --- Tennessee State improved to 3-4 on the season with a pair of strong pitching performances. The Tigers earned a 4-1 win over Grambling State before taking a 6-1 decision over Alcorn State on day two of the River City Classic.
Lauren Powell tossed a complete game one-hitter as she allowed just one unearned run. Powell struck out four batters opposed to one walk on her way to her second consecutive win. The lone hit against the redshirt senior hurler came in the first inning.
In the night cap, Raven Loveless took to the circle and almost duplicated the game one performance. Loveless allowed an unearned run on two hits, while not allowing a free base and fanning five.
In game one, Anayah Baker-Rowell led the offense with her third multi-hit game, including a triple to lead off the first inning. Renae Spears also added two hits in game one, while Bri Vire delivered an RBI double in the sixth inning.
Baker-Rowell scored the first run of the game as she was brought home off the bat of Vire. Savanah Wallace recorded what would be the game winner as she scored in the second inning on a bases loaded walk to Ivory Jones.
In game two, Lauren Farias finished with two hits and two runs to pace the Tigers. Ivory Jones and Baker-Rowell each delivered two-run doubles for the big blows for TSU.
MISSOURI 6, SIUE 1; SOUTH ALABAMA 6, SIUE 1
MOBILE, Ala. - For a second straight day, SIUE softball found itself in an extra-inning contest.
This time host South Alabama edged the Cougars 6-5 in eight innings. That was after the Cougars dropped the opening game of the day 6-1 to Missouri.
The Cougars, 0-4, will close the South Alabama Tournament with an 11:15 a.m. game Sunday against Northwestern State.
SIUE Head Coach Jessica Jones said the team's record does not reflect the team's potential.
In its first weekend of the play, SIUE proved its ability to come from behind in games. Down 5-0 to South Alabama, the Cougars tied up the game with a five-run rally in the sixth inning.
Zoe Schafer doubled to left center and drove home Becca Duran and Ava Bieneman. Lexi King added her own RBI with a single through the left side that would bring home Schafer. Amber Storer, who has a team-leading seven hits over the first two days of play, then tied the game with the Cougars' first home run of the season, a blast to left field.
South Alabama, now 7-4, used a sacrifice fly from Kennedy Cronan in the eighth as Bailey Welch scored the winning run.
Syndey Baalman took the loss in relief for the Cougars. She threw 5 2/3 innings and fanned five South Alabama hitters.
Olivia Lacke earned the win in relief, getting the final two outs of the top of the eighth.
Earlier in the day, SIUE fell to Missouri. Bailley Concatto and Storer each had two hits for the Cougars. Concatto's RBI single in the third inning scored Alana Cobb-Adams.
Missouri used three pitchers against the Cougars. Laurin Krings was credited with the win. Emily Ingles took the loss for SIUE.
SIUE's Ohio Valley Conference season begins next weekend at Eastern Kentucky.