SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 4, @Tennessee Tech 1
Southeast Missouri 8, @Tennssee Tech 4
@Eastern Illinois 12, Belmont 6
Belmont 7, @Eastern Illinois 4
UT Martin 5, @Jacksonville State 2
UT Martin 5, @Jacksonville State 4 (8)
@Murray State 10, Eastern Kentucky 2
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4, TENNESSEE TECH 1; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, TENNESSEE TECH 4
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Kaylee Anderson and Ashley Ellis each hit two home runs to lead Southeast Missouri (7-9, 5-1) to 4-1 and 8-4 wins over Tennessee Tech (8-10, 3-3) Saturday.
Kaylee Anderson went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, two runs scored and three RBI to lead SEMO to its 4-1 victory. That game was initially suspended due to weather and finished Saturday before the series finale.
With a runner in scoring position and one out after Jillian Anderson singled and stole second, Anderson homered to left field giving the Redhawks a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Two innings later, Anderson hit her second round-tripper over the center field wall with two outs in the third pushing SEMO's lead to 4-1.
Left-hander Marisa Davis tossed four scoreless innings en route to her first win of the season. Davis struck out two and did not allow a hit in that span.
Davis and Rachel Rook combined on a one-hitter as TTU recorded its only hit in the third inning.
SEMO jumped on TTU early in the series finale when Ashley Ellis hit a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the first inning.
Ellis came up again in the third inning and launched a two-run home run to help stretch SEMO's lead to 6-0. Ellis, who hit multiple home runs in a game for the fifth time in her career, now had 39 career round-trippers.
TTU scored three runs in the sixth inning, but it wasn't enough.
Ellis went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and matched a career-high five RBI to lead SEMO. Jillian Anderson and Katie Dreiling also added two hits each.
Rachel Rook (5-5) picked up the win after striking out four and walking one in five innings.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 12, BELMONT 6; BELMONT 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
CHARLESTON, Ill. - – Eastern Illinois softball split its Saturday doubleheader with Belmont at Williams Field, but after winning the Friday night opener the Panthers won the weekend series to improve to 12-5 overall, 5-1 in the OVC. Belmont exited the weekend at 6-9 overall, 2-4 in the OVC.
EIU won game one of Saturday’s doubleheader 12-6 before Belmont salvaged the final game of the series 7-4.
In the opener EIU once again jumped out in front on a three-run home run by Haley Mitchell in the bottom of the first. The Panthers would extend that lead to 5-0 in the second on a Hannah Cravens two run double.
The Bruins rallied in the top of the third scoring five runs against EIU starter Sydney Cammon. Belmont strung together six straight hits with RBI singles in the rally by Kaley Varner, Cheyenne Cavanaugh and Alicia Veltre.
Belmont would take a 6-5 lead in the fourth as Cavanaugh had her second RBI single of the game. The single scored MyKayla Spurlin who was 2-for-3 for the game with two doubles. Cavanaugh added two hits for Belmont.
Olivia Price would come in to pitch in relief for EIU in the fourth and scattered two hits in four innings of relief. The Panthers would provide the freshman some offense in the bottom of the fourth and sixth frames as she improved to 3-1 on the year.
The Panthers big blow in the fourth came on a two-run double by Mia Davis as she was 2-for-3 in the game. In the sixth it was clutch pinch hitting for EIU, first by Abi Stahlhut and then by Andrea Sampson with a three run double to clear the bases.
Morgan Lewis added two hits for EIU while Megan Burton scored four runs in the game, hitting a solo home run. Autumn McDaniel (2-2) suffered the loss in relief for Belmont.
In the night cap, EIU again got on the board in the first inning as Burton hit a solo home run, the first of two by the Panthers shortstop in the game.
Belmont connect for its first home run of the weekend in the fourth as Abi Ledbetter hit a solo shot to right to tie the game at 1-1. Elison Ollinger would triple to follow Ledbetter and came around to score on an RBI ground out by Spurlin which gave Belmont a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins would add to that with four runs in the fourth providing starter Alicia Veltre all the support she would need in a complete game win. Veltre improved to 4-5 on the year. Jade Montgomery was credited with the loss for EIU falling to 5-4.
In the fourth Ollinger connected for a three-run home run as she was 2-for-3 on the day. Ledbetter was 4-for-4 on the afternoon for the Bruins.
EIU added a run in the fifth and two more in the seventh on Burton’s third home run of the day. Burton was the lone Panther with multiple hits in the night cap, going 2-for-4.
UT MARTIN 5, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2; UT MARTIN 5, JACKSONVILLE STATE 4
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team’s final trip to Jacksonville State with the Gamecocks a member of the Ohio Valley Conference ended on a high note as the Skyhawks swept Saturday’s doubleheader to post the program’s first series victory in Jacksonville since 2004.
The Skyhawks (11-5, 3-3 OVC) used strong pitching performances all afternoon while finding timely hitting to key a comeback attempt in the first game of the doubleheader en route to a 5-2 win while scratching out a 5-4 extra-innings victory in the rubber match.
The series win marks just the second time the Skyhawks have won a road series against Jacksonville State in program history, also winning 2-of-3 against the Gamecocks back in 2004. This weekend marked the final OVC regular season series for the Skyhawks and Gamecocks as Jacksonville State will join the ASUN Conference at the conclusion of the season.
UT Martin tallied 12 hits on the day while driving in six RBIs. Freshman Kaci Fuller led the team with four base hits while sophomore Kallie Pickens tallied three base knocks – including a triple in the top of the eight inning which proved to be the game-winning run in the series finale. Freshman Macey Neal ranked as the other Skyhawk with multiple base hits on the afternoon while sophomore Kaitlyn Kelley drove in three RBIs.
Sophomore Alexis Groet (4-1, 1.17 ERA) was tremendous all weekend for the Skyhawks. Groet picked up wins in both contests, allowing two earned runs in 12.0 innings of work with a 1.17 ERA. She pitched a compete game in the first game of the afternoon, allowing two runs. Her name was called again in relief of Erin Gallagher who pitched 3.0 innings and allowed two earned runs in the finale, where she was at times dominating by allowing just one hit in five innings of work.
Game 1: UT Martin 5, Jacksonville State 2
UT Martin jumped on the board in the top of the first inning looking to make a statement after last night’s extra-inning matchup. Fuller worked a leadoff walk to start the frame before moving all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt. The speedster’s time on third would be short as she later came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Kelley to take an early 1-0 advantage.
Groet was holding the Gamecocks in check until the bottom of the sixth inning when they finally got on the board. A pair of singles spelled trouble before a double to right center by Alexus Jimmerson put the Gamecocks on the board and into the lead 2-1.
Down to their final three outs in the top of the seventh, the Skyhawks remained patient as Neal and Gracie Lusk drew walks before Kenna Garst was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. With a prime scoring chance at hand, Fuller lined a single to center field to score the tying run before Kelley later found a game-winning single of her own to clear the bases – driving in a pair while the third run scored on a fielding error by the catcher – to give the Skyhawks a 5-2 advantage and the eventual win.
Game 2: UT Martin 5, Jacksonville State 4 (Eight innings)
It took a little bit for both teams to find their footing in the second half of today’s doubleheader, waiting until the fourth inning to get going. The Skyhawks opened the frame with a walk followed by three straight singles by Clark, Lusk and Neal for the game’s first run. Three more runs would come home to score for the Skyhawks to punctuate a four-run inning on errors off the bats of Pickens and Gore.
Jacksonville State wasted little time responding however, scoring four runs themselves in the bottom half of the fourth. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases before three consecutive singles by Jada Terry, Shelby Newsome and Alex Howard tied the game at four runs each.
The score would remain tied until the top of the eighth inning as the Skyhawks and Gamecocks went to extra innings for the second day in a row. Hoping to reverse yesterday’s fortunes, Pickens led off the frame with a triple to left field before coming home to score the game-winning run following a pitching change on a wild pitch. The Skyhawks would tally another hit in the inning but the damage was done.
JSU made a late charge in the bottom of the eighth to find the tying run, loading the bases but the Skyhawks would get an innocent fly out to end the game and secure the doubleheader sweep.
MURRAY STATE 10, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
MURRAY, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team fell on the road against in-state rival Murray State, 10-2, on Saturday night.
Murray State (6-12, 3-1 OVC) scored two runs in the first and three runs in the second and never looked back.
Ariyana Miranda singled up the middle to bring home Jaelyn Sanders to cut into the Racer lead, 5-1, in the third inning.
MSU pushed three more across in the fourth and two in the fifth inning to take the game.
Mattira Morales hit her first home run of the season in the top of the fifth to cut the score to 8-2.
Miranda went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Morales went 1-for-1 with one home run and one RBI.
Logan Braundmeier went 3-for-4 to lead the Racers. She drove in three and scored four times. Sierra Gilmore had two hits and drove in three runs.