THURSDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 5, @Dayton 1
@North Alabama 11,
Murray State 0
Middle Tennessee 3,
@Austin Peay 2
@Western Kentucky 11,
Tennessee Tech 3
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5, DAYTON 1
DAYTON, Ohio - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team pushed its winning streak to six games with a 5-1 win over Dayton on Wednesday in Dayton.
Eastern Kentucky (31-11, 21-5 OVC) wasted no time jumping on the Flyers in the top of the first.
Sammi Miller worked a leadoff walk to get things started. Zoe Mihalicz followed with a double off the fence to score Miller from first and the Colonels took an early 1-0 lead. Jeanay Riley brought home the second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Mihalicz and give EKU the 2-0 advantage.
Mihalicz brought home her second run of the day with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Melissa Jacobsen and make it 3-0 Eastern after two innings.
The Colonels pushed two more across in the top of the fifth on a two RBI single up the middle by Carly Robinson to extend the lead to 5-0.
Dayton (15-22, 10-6 A-10) got an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth but could never get any closer.
Tori Peterson (15-3) picked up the win in the circle tossing four innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out two. Bethany Todd started in the circle tossing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Miller, Mihalicz, Robinson, Isabella Gonzalez, and Jacobsen each had a hit on the contest.
The Colonels return to Gertrude Hood Field this weekend for a three-game series against Eastern Illinois starting on Saturday. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
NORTH ALABAMA 11, MURRAY STATE 0
FLORENCE, Ala. - Murray State softball played its final nonconference game of the regular season when they made the trek to North Alabama for a Wednesday afternoon clash with the Lions. The Lions, who had not played a game since April 11th, found their rhythm quickly in the return to action – defeating the Racers 11-0 in six innings behind a pair of grand slams in Florence, Alabama.
The Racers (19-26, 16-12 OVC) thought they had opened the scoring in the first frame when Sierra Gilmore’s line drive to center field drove in Jensen Striegel, but it was ruled that Striegel left first base early and the run was taken off the board.
Instead, it would be the Lions who made the breakthrough, taking advantage of their bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the third when Harley Stokes launched a grand slam to give her side a 4-0 advantage.
UNA tacked on two more in the fifth when Georgia Land’s single to left field scored a pair to make it 6-0 in favor of the home side.
A Sidney Bevis sacrifice fly in the following frame added another Lion run before Land brought the contest to an early end when she sent a two-out delivery soaring over the wall in left center for the second North Alabama grand slam of the ballgame.
Sierra Gilmore doubled as part of a two-hit performance to lead the Racers offensively, turning in her team-leading 16th multi-hit outing of the season in the defeat. Kamryn Carcich and Chloe Jacque also each doubled in the contest to account for the other two Murray State hits on the day.
Taylor Makowsky (5-3) would be on the hook for the loss, surrendering four earned runs over 2.1 innings of work while recording a strikeout.
Rachel Monroe pitched 2.2 innings in relief as the freshman made the first appearance of her collegiate career. She struck out one while allowing just a single earned run in the outing.
The Racers will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Cape Girardeau for a crucial three-game OVC series with Southeast Missouri. Saturday’s first pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University dropped its final non-conference game of the season versus Middle Tennessee, Wednesday at Cathi Maynard Park, as the Govs saw the Blue Raiders escape with a 3-2 win.
Austin Peay (23-13) broke a 0-0 deadlock with two runs in the fourth inning, as Drew Dudley and Brooke Pfefferle recorded RBI singles.
But Middle Tennessee (24-20) rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth, all coming on a home run by Lexi Cushing for the 3-2 final.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 11, TENNESSEE TECH 3
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky peppered the Tennessee Tech defense for 17 hits on Wednesday night as the host Hilltoppers topped the Golden Eagles 11-3.
It was the final non-conference contest for Tech (18-25). The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday as they travel to Nashville to take on Belmont, starting with a twinbill at 1 p.m.
Tech was held to just three hits in the contest as Beth McCulley, Shelby Penning and Nicole Nysted each collected a safety. Two of the three hits came in the fourth inning as McCulley hit a one-out double to left center. Raleigh Lewis drew a walk, then Penning reached on a fielder’s choice as McCulley was erased at third on a 6-5 putout. Nysted, pinch-hitting for Carmen Betts, took the first pitch for a ball, then drilled the next over the outfield fence for a home run, her eighth of the season. The blast knotted the game at three runs each.
It escalated from there as the Hilltoppers scored two runs in the fourth, three runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to enact the run rule.
Brylee Hage led WKU with a 4-for-4 night at the plate with four RBI, while Paige Carter (3-for-3) and Kennedy Sullivan (1-for-4) each had two RBI.
Sullivan improved to 5-0 in the circle as she went four innings, allowing three runs on three hits, walking three and striking out three. Shelby Nunn pitched the next two frames, striking out four Golden Eagles.
Haeli Bryson started the contest but took a no-decision, throwing the first three frames as she allowed three runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out two. Alyssa Arden was saddled with the loss, allowing eight runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 frames, walking none and striking out two. Callie Piper faced the final two batters, walking both, including Carter with the bases loaded to force the run rule.