SATURDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 4, Eastern Kentucky 0 (5)
@Jacksonville State 4, SIUE 2
@Murray State 3, Tennessee State 2
@Southeast Missouri 10, Morehead State (0)
@Southeast Missouri 9, Morehead State 1
@Austin Peay 5, Belmont 0
UT MARTIN 4, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team picked up a win in the series finale against Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon with a 4-0 victory in five innings after severe weather shortened the contest.
The Skyhawks (17-7, 7-5 OVC) salvaged the third and final game of the series after suffering a sweep of the first two games yesterday. UT Martin posted a big inning in the second behind three hits in the frame – including a two-run blast by Macey Neal to key the offensive inning – while adding another insurance run in the bottom of the fourth.
Neal paced the home squad with two hits on the afternoon including the big blast while Kaci Fuller, Shyanne Sheffield, Aalia Bivens, Maddi Long and Chelsey Gore also reach the hit column.
Sophomore hurler Alexis Groet (7-2, 1.39 ERA) was dominant in the circle en route to her seventh win of the season. Groet recorded her first shutout of the season after striking out six in five innings of work.
UT Martin jumped on Eastern Kentucky for three runs in the second inning after Bivens led off the frame with a single to center before advancing to second on a defensive miscue. On the very next pitch, she would stay in motion as Long stroked a single to right center to score the senior from second and put the Skyhawks on top. The Skyhawks would not be done however, as Neal crushed the fourth pitch she saw and hit it over the right field wall for her second home run of the season to put the home team up by three.
The Skyhawks added another run in the bottom of the fourth for extra insurance. Neal tallied her second hit of the game with a single up the middle before back-to-back singles by Gore and Fuller loaded the bases with just one out. With the bases juiced, Sheffield worked a seven-pitch at-bat to draw a walk to drive in the game’s fourth run before a nifty double play by the Colonels escaped the jam without additional damage.
After retiring the Colonels in the top of the fifth inning, the game went into a lightning and weather delay in the bottom of the fifth inning which lasted over a hour before the contest was called by game officials.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 4, SIUE 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State freshman Alex Howard's first career home run was a memorable one for Jacksonville State on Saturday, when they Gamecocks downed SIU-Edwardsville 4-2 on Howard's walk-off blast.
The Oxford, Ala., native belted Sydney Baalman's 0-1 pitch deep over the wall in left center in the bottom of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and give the Gamecocks (6-16, 5-7 Ohio Valley Conference) a win in the final game of the three-game series with the Cougars (4-14, 4-8 OVC).
The Gamecocks struggled to get their offense going for the first five innings, before Alexus Jimmerson hammered her first home run of the season that gave JSU its first two runs. Howard provided the final two runs with her dramatic pinch-hit homer in the seventh.
The Cougars broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, when Lexi King led off the top half with a single and scored on Grace Lueke's double into the gap in left center.
That lead held until the home half of the sixth, when the Cougars went to the bullpen and brought in Emily Ingles to try and preserve the lead. She gave up a one-out single to Jada Terry and then a two-run homer to Alexus Jimmerson that put the Gamecocks in front, 2-1.
The lead didn't hold long. Amber Storer got under the first pitch of the seventh and lifted it over the wall down the left field line, tying the game at 2-2.
That set the stage for Howard's heroics in the home half of the inning. Fellow freshman Shelby Newsome started the frame with a walk in her pinch-hit appearance, while freshman Ellie Largen pinch ran for Newsome and scored the tying run ahead of Howard's homer.
Nicole Rodriguez (3-3) went the distance and earned the win for JSU. She limited the Cougars to two runs on seven hits, while striking out six in her seven innings of work.
Baalman (1-4) suffered the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in her 6 and 1/3 innings of work. She faced all but the four batters Ingles faced in her brief appearance in the sixth.
MURRAY STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State softball concluded its three-game weekend series against Tennessee State with a single game on Saturday at Racer Field. Strong pitching and a three-run third inning propelled the Racers to a 3-2 victory as Murray State improved to 11-3 against OVC competition - tying their 2019 mark for the best-ever start to the conference slate.
Tennessee State got some early momentum from a Marisa Mauroschadt RBI triple as the Tigers opened the scoring with a run in the second inning.
The Racers answered back with authority in the third when Logan Braundmeier’s RBI single scored Taylor Jackson to tie the game at one apiece. The Racers went on to take their first lead of the ballgame later in the frame when Sierra Gilmore delivered in the clutch with a two-out, two-run single that brought Lily Fischer and Chloe Jacque around to score as the Racers owned a 3-1 advantage through three complete.
After an Ivory Jones solo home run cut the deficit to a single run in the fourth for the Tigers, Jenna Veber retired the next 10 TSU batters in order for the Racers.
The Tigers put the tying run on second base with just one out in the seventh, but Veber pitched out of the jam unscathed as the Racers won the game and the weekend series with a 3-2 victory to close the weekend.
Veber notched her fifth win of the year, striking out three over 4.2 innings of work – surrendering just one earned run without issuing a walk on the day.
The three Racer runs came on six hits, with Sierra Gilmore (2-3, 2 RBIs, SB) leading the way with another multi-hit performance.
AUSTIN PEAY 5, BELMONT 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s Jordan Benefiel pitched a three-hit shutout, while Lexi Osowski picked up three hits and accounted for four runs versus Belmont, Saturday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, as the Govs took the opening game of their three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, 5-0.
Game 2, Saturday, was postponed until, 1 p.m., Sunday, where it will be resumed to completion and then followed by the regularly scheduled Sunday contest.
Benefiel (4-2) was in control from the start as she only allowed three hits, all to the Bruins (8-13, 4-8 OVC) leadoff hitter Cheyenne Cavanaugh, while walking one and striking out a career single-game tying nine batters.
Offensively, after the two teams opened the game trading three scoreless innings each, the Governors (11-8, 6-6 OVC) would break the deadlock with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Osowski would get things started with a one-out single followed by a walk to Kelsey Gross and then a single by Brett Jackson to load the bases.
Emily Harkleroad would follow with an infield single, to score Osowski, with Drew Dudley driving in Gross with a single to make it 2-0.
The Govs would three more runs in the fifth inning, with Osowski driving in Kelsey Gray and Bailey Shorter with a single and later in the inning score on a passed ball for the 5-0 final margin.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10, MOREHEAD STATE 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, MOREHEAD STATE 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Ashley Ellis went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, three home runs and seven RBI to lead Southeast Missouri (14-10, 11-1) to a pair of five-inning 10-0, 9-1, victories over Morehead State (6-17, 0-14) Saturday at the Southeast Softball Complex.
SEMO polished off its third-straight series sweep with three five-inning wins over the Eagles. The Redhawks also ran their Ohio Valley Conference winning streak to a league-best 10 games this season.
The Redhawks erupted for seven runs in the first inning of game one. SEMO sent 12 hitters to the plate with Ellis and Karsyn Davis delivering back-to-back home runs to help key the surge. SEMO tallied seven hits in the early onslaught. For Davis, the round-tripper was the first of her career.
Ellis hit a two-run shot in her second-straight at-bat in the second to increase its lead to 9-0 before Katie Dreiling added a run-scoring single to complete the 10-0 game one shutout.
Paytience Holman (4-5) tossed a one-hitter with four strikeouts in five scoreless innings. Holman did not allow a walk, as well.
SEMO pounded out 12 hits with Dreiling, Kaylee Anderson, Ellis and Davis getting two apiece. Ellis' five RBI matched her career-high and the multiple-home run game was the sixth of her career.
Ahead 5-1 in the nightcap, the Redhawks used back-to-back home runs by Rachel Anderson and Dreiling to nail down its third win over the Eagles.
Kynzie Wrigley singled and Jillian Anderson walked before R. Anderson smacked a home run to left. On the next play, Dreiling belted her third home run of the season to give SEMO a walk off win.
Rachel Rook (9-5) worked six innings and struck out five along the way. Rook gave up one run on three hits and walked one.
R. Anderson, Wrigley and Ellis led the Redhawks with two hits each. Anderson also finished with a career-high five RBI and tied SEMO's all-time career record in runs scored. She is in a tie for first with Michelle Summers (161, 2005-08) at the top of that list.
SEMO hit five home runs for the day.
Meanwhile, Ellis' four home runs in the series put her at 43 in her career. Nine of Ellis' 16 hits this season came on the long ball. She is six home runs away from breaking SEMO's all-time career record of 48 held by Summers (2005-08).
SEMO is on a 10-game winning streak in OVC play for the first time in 12 years.