SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 3, Eastern Illinois 0
Eastern Illinois 5, @Southeast Missouri 1
@SIUE 4, UT Martin 3
@SIUE 6, UT Martin 3
@Jacksonvillle State 1, Murray State 0
Eastern Kentucky 7, @Belmont 3
Austin Peay 9, @Tennessee Tech 7
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0; EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Paytience Holman threw a two-hit shutout with six strikeouts and Southeast Missouri (17-11, 13-2) split a doubleheader with Eastern Illinois (17-10, 10-6) Saturday at the Southeast Softball Complex.
SEMO clinched its fifth-straight Ohio Valley Conference series win.
Holman tossed her third shutout and four complete game of the season. She no-hit EIU for six innings as the Panthers had their only hits in the third inning with only one of those leaving the infield.
The Redhawks took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third where Alyson Tucker led off with a solo home run to left. Jillian Anderson followed with a single and stole second. She later scored on a close play at the plate on a fielder's choice bunt.
SEMO added one more run on a one-out RBI-single by Ashley Ellis in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Holman (5-5) retired EIU in order in three innings. She also allowed just two walks in her complete game gem. Her six strikeouts matched a season-high.
Six different Redhawks had a hit in game one.
Jade Montgomery (6-7) suffered the loss. Montgomery worked six innings with five strikeouts. She allowed three runs and six hits, as well.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead after a pinch-hit RBI infield single by Kimmy Wallen in the bottom of the fifth inning of game two, EIU used three home runs to overpower the Redhawks in the nightcap.
Haley Mitchell and Hannah Cravens hit back-to-back home runs with two outs to give EIU its first lead at 2-1 in the top of the sixth.
The Panthers tacked on three more runs with two coming on a home run by Megan Burton in the top of the seventh as EIU pulled ahead, 5-1.
SEMO had the tying run at the plate in the bottom half of the seventh, but Montgomery recorded the final out on a strikeout claiming her first save of the season.
Rachel Rook (11-6) struck out 10, scattered five hits and allowed two runs in 5.2 innings. Marisa Davis and Holman pitched the final 1.1 innings out of the bullpen.
SEMO outhit EIU, 10-6, with Rachel Anderson, Ellis and Tucker posting two hits each.
Olivia Price (7-3) picked up the win for EIU allowing just one run on nine hits in five innings.
SEMO saw a 12-game OVC winning streak and 10-game winning streak overall end in game two.
SIUE 4, UT MARTIN 3; SIUE 6, UT MARTIN 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - – Emily Ingles joined the 500-strikeout club for SIUE softball as the Cougars swept a Saturday doubleheader and earned a series win over UT Martin at Cougar Field.
SIUE, 7-16 overall and 7-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference, won the opener 4-3 and added a 6-3 victory in the nightcap. UT Martin twice was denied its 20th victory of the season, falling to 19-9 overall and 8-7 in the OVC.
Ingles became the fifth pitcher in school history to pass 500. She threw 1 2/3 innings in game two and earned her second victory of the season. It was her 41st career win in the circle, which is 14th all-time.
In game one, Sydney Baalman earned a complete-game victory and improved to 3-5.
SIUE managed single tallies in the first four innings of game one.
Alana Cobb-Adams set the pace for the day with a home run to right center leading off the game.
Grace Lueke and Amber Storer provided RBI hits in the second and third inning, respectively. The Cougars pulled off a squeeze bunt by Cobb-Adams in the fourth, scoring Micah Arps.
SIUE outhit UT Martin in game one 10-6. Ava Bieneman had three hits for the Cougars, her team-leading third three-hit game of the season.
In game two, SIUE rallied for four unearned runs off UT Martin starter Alexis Groet in the second inning. Bailley Concatto highlighted the inning with a two-run homer to right field.
While Ingles earned the win, Bianca Vozenilek was equally as strong. She tossed three innings in relief allowing one hit for her first career save.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 1, MURRAY STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team finished off a weekend sweep of the visiting Murray State Racers on Saturday with a 1-0 victory to run the Gamecock winning streak to six games.
JSU (11-16, 10-7 Ohio Valley Conference) scored its lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the second on junior Chaney Phillips' single down the left field line that brought home Karsen Mosley. Starting pitcher Reagan Watkins held the Racers (14-19, 11-6 OVC) took care of business through five en route to her fourth win of the season, before running into trouble in the sixth when she was relived by Nicole Rodriguez for her first save of the year.
The Gamecocks stranded eight Racers on the bases in Saturday's final tilt between the two squads in a strong defensive effort. Watkins left two on in the first and another in the top of the second, before getting a boost from JSU's offense in the home half.
Mosley got things going with one-away in the bottom of the second with a single to left. With Megan Fortner at bat, Mosley took second, and a throwing error by the catcher allowed her to advance to third. Fortner reached on a fielder's choice to second as the Racers threw home to prevent Mosley from scoring. Phillips did the job two pitches later with her single over third.
Watkins avoided much trouble in the circle the next three innings with only one hit allowed and two baserunners through the fifth. In the sixth, MSU's Lindsey Carroll and Sierra Gilmore, who combined for four of the Racers' six hits, opened with back-to-back singles. A walk issue to Logan Braundmeier loaded the bases with no outs, and signaled the end of Watkins' day.
Rodriguez entered into one-run, bases-loaded jam to shut the door on the Racers' hope for a big inning. The senior from Daphne, Ala., forced a foul pop-out behind third to open the inning, followed by consecutive strikeouts to add three more to MSU's left-on-base total.
JSU was unable to ever tack on an insurance run, but Rodriguez wouldn't need it with an easy top of the seven to finish the game with a pop out and two fly outs to center.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 7, BELMONT 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team rolled past Belmont, 7-3, on Saturday in Nashville to complete the sweep of the Bruins.
Eastern Kentucky (21-9, 13-4 OVC) again jumped out to an early lead on the Bruins in the top of the first pushing three runs across.
Sammi Miller got things started with a double in the right center gap in the top of the first. Ariyana Miranda followed with a bunt single to put runners on the corners with no one out.
Carly Robinson brought home the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Vianna Barron did more damage taking the first pitch of her at-bat over the left field fence to give the Colonels a 3-0 advantage.
Eastern Kentucky pushed three more across in the top of the third.
Back-to-back singles by Robinson and Barron got things started for the Colonels in the third. After Zoe Mihalicz reached on a fielder’s choice, Mattira Morales got hit by a pitch to bring home the first run of the inning. Isabella Gonzalez and Miranda Lopez pushed two more across in the inning on a ground out and a sacrifice fly.
Lopez brought home the final run of the game for EKU in the top of the fifth with a RBI single that scored Mihalicz.
Belmont (8-18, 4-13 OVC) got on the board for the first time in the bottom of the seventh after a Cheyanne Cavanaugh three-run home run.
Peterson (10-2) tossed six and one-third innings, allowed three runs and struck out seven.
Barron went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Lopez chipped in a 2-for-3 performance with two RBIs.
AUSTIN PEAY 9, TENNESSEE TECH 7
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University hit three home runs versus Tennessee Tech, Sunday at Tech Softball Field, to power the Govs to a sweep of its three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against the Golden Eagles, 9-7.
And it didn't take long for the Governors (16-8, 11-6 OVC) to flex their muscles, with their third batter of the game, Lexi Osowski hitting her third of the season, which followed a single by Brooke Pfefferle, two make it 2-0.
Tennessee Tech (13-17, 7-9 OVC) answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning, but the Govs responded with a run in the top of the second, coming on a double by Bailey Shorter, to drive in Emily Moore, making it 3-1.
The Golden Eagles would tie the game at three-all, with two runs of their own in the third, aided by back-to-back doubles to open the inning.
APSU would answer with their second big fly of the game, in the fourth, with Shorter leaving the yard for the fourth time this season and second time this weekend to score three and retake the lead, 6-3.
Tennessee Tech wouldn't go away, as they hit their only homer of the day in the bottom of the inning, also a three-run shot, to tie the game for the second time, this time at 6-6.
But it would be the Govs that had the final round-tripper of the day, as Kelsey Gross hit a laser out over the left field fence for her second home run of the season, which also scored Shorter and Pfefferle, to put Austin Peay up three, 9-6.
Tennessee Tech would tack on a run in the bottom of the inning, to get to within two, but that would be as close as they would get, as Gross (6-1) -- who came in to pitch in relief in the fourth inning -- set the Golden Eagles down in order in the seventh, including striking out the final batter of the game on a called third strike to seal away the victory and secure the series sweep for the Govs.