WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 5, Morehead State 3
@Eastern Kentucky 6, Morehead State 1
@Murray State 8, Austin Peay 2
@Murray State 2, Austin Peay 1
@Middle Tennessee 11,
Jacksonville State 1
Belmont 5, @Tennessee State 2
Belmont 7, @Tennessee State 0
@Tennessee Tech 7, Chattanooga 0
@Evansville 9,
SIUE 5
Southeast Missouri 6, @Saint Louis 1
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5, MOREHEAD STATE 3; EASTERN KENTUCKY 6, MOREHEAD STATE 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team swept a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader against in-state rival Morehead State at Gertrude Hood Field.
Eastern Kentucky (16-7, 8-3 OVC) took game one, 5-3, before winning game two of the doubleheader 6-1.
Sammi Miller got things started in game one with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first. After a Morehead State throwing error put runners on second and third with no one out, Carly Robinson brought home the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to give the Colonels a 1-0 lead.
Morehead State (6-14, 0-11 OVC) answered back with three runs in the top of the second to take the lead.
Peyton Jordan got the rally started for the Eagles, reaching second base after an EKU throwing error. With one out in the second, Taylor Rhea singled up the middle to bring home Jordan and tie the game at 1-1. Morehead State did more damage with two outs. Maddie Kawall doubled to left field to bring home Rhea and give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Kirya Kingery kept the inning going with a single to center field, scoring Kawall making it 3-1 in favor of the visitors.
The Eagles never scored again.
Jeanay Riley drew a leadoff walk for EKU in the bottom of the second. Riley stole second and advanced to third on a single by Zoe Mihalicz. After a Miranda Lopez walk, Miller singled to left field to bring home Riley and cut into the Morehead State lead, 3-2.
Eastern took the lead for good in the bottom of the third.
After Robinson reached on a Morehead State error and Isabella Gonzalez walked, Lou Bowers doubled down the right field line to bring home two and give Eastern a 4-3 advantage.
Vianna Barron added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly to give the Colonels a 5-3 lead.
Mollie Paulick (4-0) picked up the win in the circle, tossing four innings, allowing two hits, and striking out four. Samantha Reynoso started in the circle, pitching three innings and striking out two.
Miller went 2-for-2 with one walk and one RBI. Bowers went 1-for-1 with one double and two RBIs.
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In game two, the Colonels scored two in the first inning and three in the third inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead, and they never looked back.
Miller got things started in a big way, taking a 2-1 pitch over the right center field fence for her second home run of the season. After a Kara Gunter walk, Robinson doubled to center field to bring home Gunter and give the Colonels a 2-0 lead.
Back-to-back singles by Bowers and Gonzalez put runners on first and second with no one out in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Lopez singled up the middle to score two runs and give Eastern a 4-0 lead. Jaelyn Sanders brought home a third run after she reached on a Morehead State error to make it 5-0.
Mihalicz brought home the final run for the Colonels with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Morehead State scored an unearned run in the top of the fifth.
Tori Peterson (7-1) went the distance in the circle in game two, tossing seven innings, allowing five hits, and striking out three.
MURRAY STATE 8, AUSTIN PEAY 2; MURRAY STATE 2, AUSTIN PEAY
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State softball kicked off its six-game homestand with a Battle of the Border doubleheader against Austin Peay on Wednesday afternoon. The Racers picked up right where they left off after sweeping SIUE on the weekend, earning a pair of wins over the Governors on the day with 8-2 and 2-1 triumphs at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky as MSU improved to 9-2 in the OVC.
Game 1 – Murray State 8, Austin Peay 2
The Racers meant business from the first pitch of the day, putting up three runs in the opening frame after back-to-back sacrifice flies from Sierra Gilmore and Lindsey Carroll plated a pair, followed by Lily Fischer crossing the plate courtesy of a ground ball off the bat of Lexi Jones as the Racers held a 3-0 lead through one complete.
After Hannah James faced just one batter over the minimum in the next three innings, the Racer offense got back to work in the home half of the fourth.
After Gilmore drove in Jensen Striegel, Lindsey Carroll cleared the bases when she sent a 3-2 offering soaring over the fence in left center as the three-run shot made it 7-0 Racers through four innings of action.
The Governors got one back in the fifth and another in the sixth, but the Racers carried an 8-2 lead into the final frame after Lexi Jones scored Fischer to give MSU a six-run cushion heading to the seventh.
Kamryn Carcich took over for James in the circle in the final inning, and the freshman held the Governors scoreless while recording a strikeout to protect the Racer lead and secure an 8-2 victory in the first game of the day.
James notched the win, dealing six innings while striking out four and surrendering just one earned run as the junior from Nicholasville, Kentucky improved to 3-1 against OVC competition in 2021.
The eight Racer runs came on nine hits, with Logan Braundmeier leading the way with a three-hit performance and two runs scored as the senior reached base four times in the contest. Jensen Striegel (2-3, 2 R, BB) reached base three times and posted a multi-hit performance, while Lindsey Carroll paced the offense in the RBI department with four runs driven in. Carroll’s home run is her first of the season and the second of her career.
Additionally, Gilmore’s two RBIs give her 101 in a Racer uniform as she passed Ellyn Troup (2010-13) to move into sixth in program history.
Game 2 – Murray State 2, Austin Peay 1
The Racers wasted no time in the second game of the day, putting up a crooked number in the first frame once again – this time courtesy of a Lily Fischer two-run home run to left field.
Jenna Veber, who got the nod in the circle for MSU in game two, made quick work of the opposition early on, retiring the first 11 Governor batters in order before Lexi Osowski broke up the no-hit bid in the fourth. She would come around to score on a Kelsey Gross double as APSU cut the Racer lead to a single run.
Veber would allow just four hits the rest of the way to shut the door on any hopes of a Governor comeback effort as the Oswego, Illinois native collected her fourth win of the season behind a complete-game outing that featured three strikeouts without walking a single batter on the day.
Braundmeier, Fischer, and Striegel would be responsible for the three Murray State hits, while Fischer’s round-tripper is her second of the season.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 11, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State softball team scored early at Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday, but the Blue Raiders' pulled away for an 11-2 win.
The Gamecocks (5-13) got on the board in the second inning on Lizzy VanManen's first home run of the season, a two-run blast that followed a walk to Alexus Jimmerson and gave JSU the early 2-0 lead. The Blue Raiders (13-11) would score 11 unanswered from that point, starting with a four-run second.
They scored their four first-inning runs on four hits and three walks and never looked back, adding three more runs in the third and four in the sixth to end the game with the 11-2 score on the board.
JSU scattered five hits over five batters, with VanManen's homer and Jada Terry's double accounting for the Gamecocks' two extra-base hits.
Ryan King was 2-for-2 to lead MTSU, while Danielle Taitt had a team-high two RBI. The Blue Raiders had 10 hits, nine singles and a Taitt double.
Nicole Rodriguez (2-3) suffered the loss for JSU after surrendering three runs on three hits in 1 and 2/3 innings of work. Reagan Watkins entered in the second and allowed a run on three walks before making way for Hannah Brown.
Brown allowed three on three hits in her 3 and 1/3 innings, while Lexi Androlevich gave up the final four runs on four hits.
Corrina Dodd (5-0) earned the win after giving up two runs on four hits in five innings in the circle. Taitt earned her first save of the season after getting the final out in the top of the sixth. She entered with the bases loaded and the tying run on deck and got out of the inning before the MTSU rally in the home half of the sixth.
BELMONT 5, TENNESSEE STATE 2; BELMONT 7, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont Softball used dominating play on both sides of the ball to come away with a pair of wins over crosstown rival Tennessee State on Wednesday. The Bruins (8-12, 4-7 OVC) picked up a 5-2 win over Tennessee State (5-14) in the opening game before recording the team's first shutout of the season, 7-0, in the nightcap.
For the day, senior Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas) hit .714 with five hits, a run scored, a double, a triple and three RBI. Sophomore Lauren Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) hit .571 with three runs, four hits, a pair of doubles and two RBI.
Inside the circle, senior Autumn McDanel (Moravia, Iowa) went the distance in game two and earned her first shutout of the season. Freshman Alex Clesi (Mandeville, La.) logged 5.0 innings in game one as McDanel was able to come away with her first save in the win. The pair combined for 12 strikeouts.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, CHATTANOOGA 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - When Tennessee Tech faced Chattanooga the first two times this season, getting hits wasn't the problem.
Getting timely hits was.
The Golden Eagles corrected that on Wednesday, topping the visiting Mocs 7-0, giving Michelle DePolo her first win at the Tech Softball Field.
Tech, with the sweep over Morehead State, has now won four straight games – a big momentum boost heading into a crucial Ohio Valley Conference series this weekend against Eastern Illinois.
While Tech was getting the bats going, Alyssa Arden wasn't giving Chattanooga much of a chance to get anything started. She allowed three hits in the first two frames and that was it as the junior collected her first shutout of the season, allowing four walks and striking out five. A pair of errors added to the Mocs' six baserunner left in the contest.
Chattanooga dropped its 11th straight game with the loss.
At the plate, the Golden Eagles (12-11) collected a dozen hits with multi-hit games for Mackenzie Fitzgerald, Beth McCulley, Sydney Love-Baker and Carmen Betts. Fitzgerald and Love-Baker also drove in two runs each.
After collecting a leadoff hit, the Mocs moved their runner to second on a walk, then a foul ball in left allowed her to take third. But the Tech defense came through, collecting a 6-4-3 double play from Love-Baker to Fitzgerald to Haeli Bryson to end the inning.
Fitzgerald led off the Tech first as she reached on a dropped fly ball in right and was able to leg it all the way over to third. Jessie Lowery took a 2-0 count, then ripped a double into left center to drive in Fitzgerald for the first run. Lowey advanced to third on a Bryson grounder back to the circle, then Nicolle Nysted and McCulley took back-to-back walks, then Love-Baker roped a single down the third base line to drive in two more.
Tech added three more runs in the bottom of the second. Paxton Grimes took first to lead off the frame as she was hit by a pitch. Shelby Penning's grounder to short advanced Grimes, then Fitzgerald drove a single up the middle to score the run. Lowery reached as the Mocs tried to erase Fitzgerald at third, but missed. It later came back to haunt UTC as Bryson singled to short, putting runners at the corners and driving Fitzgerald in. Nysted then had a sacrifice fly to right, bringing in Lowery to make it 6-0.
The Golden Eagles added their last run in the fifth inning as Love-Baker and Betts had back-to-back singles, then, with two down, Fitzgerald collected a double down the left field line to drive in Love-Baker.
Kat Thompson took the loss for the Mocs, lasting just one-third of an inning, allowing two earned runs, three total, on two hits and two walks. Hannah Wood pitched the next two frames, allowing three earned runs on five hits, while Brooke Parrott threw the final three-and-two-thirds, yielding a run on five hits with a walk and a strikeout.
EVANSVILLE 9, SIUE 5
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A pair of multi-run rallies by Evansville pushed back SIUE softball in a 9-5 loss Wednesday at Cooper Stadium.
Evansville, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, improved to 14-7. SIUE dropped to 2-13.
Next up for the Cougars is a three-game Ohio Valley Conference road trip at Jacksonville State. The Cougars take on the Gamecocks in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 1 p.m. single game Sunday in Jacksonville, Alabama.
SIUE held the first lead of the game Wednesday with a four-run rally in the fourth inning. The Cougars picked up RBIs from Zoe Schafer, Micah Arps and Grace Lueke.
Evansville fought back with a four-run rally of its own in the bottom of the fourth.
Lexi King made it 5-4 in the fifth when she grounded out and drove in Alana Cobb-Adams.
The lead steered back toward Evansville in the bottom of the fifth. This time the Aces rallied for five runs. Katie McLean and Hannah Hood led the Purple Aces with three RBIs each.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, SAINT LOUIS 1
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (11-10) scored five runs in the fifth inning to propel a 6-1 midweek victory over Saint Louis (5-13) Wednesday afternoon at the Billiken Sports Center.
SEMO recorded its eighth win in nine games during its 101st meeting against SLU.
Ahead, 1-0, after freshman Kynzie Wrigley hit her first career home run in the top of the third inning, SEMO blew the game open with its big fifth.
Alyson Tucker led off the fifth inning with a single to right field and went to second on groundout. Jillian Anderson followed with a double and Tucker scored. On the next play, Rachel Anderson reached on an error and J. Anderson touched home. Katie Dreiling followed with a single before R. Anderson stole third and scored on another SLU mishap. Kaylee Anderson then smacked a home run to center to cap the scoring for SEMO.
The Billikens scored their lone run of the game on a RBI-double by Gabbie Kowalik in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Paytience Holman (3-5) picked up the win. Holman threw four scoreless innings with one strikeout and no walks. She also scattered three hits.
Aubrey Hacke suffered the loss.
SEMO outhit SLU, 8-5. Dreiling and J. Anderson kept their hitting streaks intact at nine and 10 games, respectively. J. Anderson also made an outstanding diving catch in left field during the fourth inning. Additionally, Dreiling was the only Redhawk with two hits.