SATURDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 9, SIUE 0 (5)
Murray State 8, SIUE 0 (5)
@UT Martin 8, Tennessee Tech 4
@Southeast Missouri 9, Tennessee State 1 (5)
Belmont 11, @Austin Peay 8
Belmont 6, @Austin Peay 3
@Eastern Illinois 15, Morehead State 0 (5)
MURRAY STATE 9, SIUE 0; MURRAY STATE 8, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Murray State softball team swept its OVC opening doubleheader with SIUE in dominant fashion Saturday at Cougar Field in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Racers won the first game, 9-0, in five innings, followed by an 8-0 win in five innings in game two.
The shutouts marked the fifth and sixth consecutive for the MSU pitching staff, who now has not allowed a run in 35 consecutive innings. In the opener, Hannah James got the complete game shutout in which she allowed just three hits, while striking out eight. In game two, Jenna Veber and Kamryn Carcich picked up the combined shutout, with Veber earning the win over 4.1-inning two hitter with two strikeouts.
Offensively, Logan Braundmeier had a huge day at the play going a combined 5-for-6 with five runs and two doubles. Sierra Gilmore drove in three runs in the doubleheader, the last of which made her the program’s all-time leader in the category with 144.
Murray State returns to action in Edwardsville Sunday looking for the series sweep. First-pitch against SIUE at Cougar Field is set for Noon.
UT MARTIN 8, TENNESSEE TECH 4
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team used two big home runs to power its way past visiting Tennessee Tech on Saturday afternoon with an 8-4 victory to open Ohio Valley Conference play at Bettye Giles Field.
The Skyhawks (14-7, 1-0 OVC) entered the contest as the league’s top scoring offense and lived up to that billing by scoring eight runs on the afternoon. UT Martin tallied eight hits in the contest with six of those going for singles while a pair of home runs by Katie Dreiling and Kaitlyn Kelley highlighted significant scoring innings in the third and fourth.
Tennessee Tech (17-7, 0-1 OVC) came into the contest riding an eight-game winning streak and took an early advantage by scoring two runs in the top of the third inning on a leadoff home run by Savannah Talley and a RBI single by Sydney Love-Baker. While UT Martin had tallied a hit in each of the first two innings, it was the team’s third hit which proved to be a difference maker as a two-run home run off the bat of Dreiling sailed over the batter’s eye in deep centerfield to tie the game at 2-2.
UT Martin kept its momentum going in the bottom of the fourth inning where it exploded for six runs in the frame. The Skyhawks tallied four hits over the course of the inning as Kaci Fuller led off with a single up the middle before Shyanne Sheffield walked to put two runners on. Following a sacrifice bunt by Avry Blume to move the pair into scoring position, Anna Hazlewood put down a perfect bunt of her own to reach base and secure a RBI to put the home squad on top. The Skyhawks added two more runs on the ensuing pair of at-bats with a RBI groundout by Emily Gilstrap followed by a single down the left field line by Paige Clark to take a 5-2 advantage.
With a lead in hand, the Skyhawks were still not done scoring in the fourth inning as Dreiling worked a five-pitch walk with two outs. As runners stood on first and second, Kelley put the game out of reach with her fourth home run of the season coming on a three-run laser over the left field wall to bring the score to 8-2.
The Golden Eagles chipped away at the deficit with a two-run shot of their own in the top of the fifth inning by Haeli Bryson but Tech would get no closer than the final margin of 8-4 down the stretch.
Alexis Groet picked up her seventh win of the season for the Skyhawks in the circle. Groet pitched six innings, allowing four earned runs while striking out four. Dreiling pitched the top of the seventh, retiring all three batters in order.
Offensively, Clark and Fuller led the Skyhawks with two hits each while five different players notched RBIs in the victory. Kelley led the team with three RBIs while Dreiling wasn’t far behind with two.
For the Golden Eagles, Alyssa Arden (9-5) was hit with the loss after giving up eight earned runs in 3.2 innings of work while Tyler Erwin appeared in relief with 2.1 strong scoreless innings. Meanwhile, Bryson paced the team in the batter’s box by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs while Love-Baker and Talley also drove in runs.
The two squads will return to action with a doubleheader slated for Sunday, March 20. Action from Bettye Giles Field is scheduled to get underway at Noon while both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, TENNESSEE STATE 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Rachel Rook broke her program's all-time career strikeout record when she struck out 13 and allowed just two hits to lead Southeast Missouri (12-10, 1-0) to a 9-1 victory over Tennessee State (9-14, 0-1) Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Rook posted her 502nd career strikeout when she fanned Mikayla Duke to end the sixth inning. Her 502 strikeouts surpassed Elaine Fischer (501, 2005-08) for the new mark. She also surpassed 100 strikeouts for the second-straight season.
A native of Republic, Missouri, Rook began her 13th start of the season strong by striking four in a row and four of the first six hitters she faced.
A leadoff triple by Alyson Tucker, the first of her career, led to her scoring the game's first run in the bottom of the first.
SEMO tacked on three more runs to its lead in the bottom of the second which began with a solo home run by Paige Halliwill. Kat Sackett and Chelsy Pena were then able to score with the help of a single to push the Redhawks lead to 4-0.
Another home run, this time by Aubrie Shore, made it a 5-0 ballgame with two outs in the third.
After scoring once in the fourth, SEMO put the exclamation point on its shortened six-inning win with three more tallies in the bottom of the sixth.
Preseason OVC favorite and league's reigning back-to-back regular-season champion, improved to 20-10 all-time in OVC openers. The Redhawks started OVC play with a win for the ninth time in 12 seasons.
Rook (8-4) also allowed two walks in her seventh complete game this year.
Caitlyn Manus (5-2) took the loss. Manus allowed 10 hits and nine runs, and walked two in 5.2 innings.
Defensively, TSU committed three errors.
Pena finished at 2-for-3 with three runs scored as one of three Redhawks with multiple hits. Sydney Dennis and Halliwill had two hits, as well. Additionally, seven different SEMO players scored.
The Redhawks out-hit the Tigers, 10-2.
SEMO and TSU wrap up their series with a 11 a.m., CT doubleheader Sunday.
BELMONT 11, AUSTIN PEAY 8; BELMONT 6, AUSTIN PEAY 3
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University dropped a pair of games to Belmont, Saturday afternoon at Cathi Maynard Park, to open Ohio Valley Conference play, falling to the Bruins by 11-8 and 6-3 finals.
In Game 1, The Govs (13-13, 0-2 OVC) saw Belmont jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, aided by two APSU errors, but responded with a two-run homer from Brooke Pfefferle to tie the game, 2-2.
The Govs offense would then put together its best inning of the day by scoring six runs in the second inning, highlighted by Pfefferle’s second home run of the game.
The Bruins (11-7, 2-0 OVC) would cut into the Govs lead in the third, scoring four runs – including three coming on a home run by Elison Ollinger – to make it 8-6.
The score would remain that way until the top of the sixth, when Cheyenne Cavanaugh homered for Belmont to cut the Govs lead to one, 8-7.
The Bruins would take its first lead since the first in the seventh scoring four times, highlighted by a two-run single by Cavanaugh to go up 11-8, which proved to be the final margin.
In Game 2, Belmont would score twice in the top of the first, on a two-run single by Kristen Green, then extend their lead to 4-0 in the fourth with two more runs.
Austin Peay would cut into the Belmont lead with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, the first coming on Lexi Osowski’s fourth home run of the season and the other on a Bailey Shorter RBI double.
The Bruins would extend its lead with two more runs in the sixth, with Austin Peay scoring one final time in the bottom of the seventh for the 6-3 final.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 15, MOREHEAD STATE 5
CHARLESTON, Ill. -– Eastern Illinois scored in every inning including a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning by Rachel Kaufman as the Panthers beat Morehead State, 15-5, in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
EIU took advantage of some walks and an early Morehead State error as the Panthers jumped in front 4-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Kaufman drove in one run, part of her five RBI day, while Maddie Swart drove in another.
Morehead State cut the lead in half in the top of the second taking advantage of a walk and back-to-back hits by Kirya Kingery and Taylor Rhea. Rhea delivered a two run double to right. Kingery was the lone Morehead State player with multiple hits going 2-for-2.
In the second Hannah Cravens hit her tenth home run of the season to push the Panthers lead back to four runs. That offense proved to be enough to carry starter Olivia Price through four innings for EIU to improve to 4-3 on the season.
EIU tacked on one run in the third and three more in the fourth before setting the stage for a five-run fifth. Jaylen Prichard had an RBI single to open the fifth before Kaufman cleared the bases with her second home run of the season.
Swart was 3-for-3 at the plate to lead EIU adding a two-run single in the fourth. Megan Burton was 2-for-4.
EIU improved to 14-12 overall, 1-0 in the OVC as the Panthers won their seventh straight game.
Morehead State fell to 1-16 overall, 0-1 in the OVC. Madi Ogden fell to 0-7 with the loss in the circle.