SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 6, Tennessee State 1
@Southeast Missouri 11, Tennessee State 3 (5)
Murray State 6, @SIUE 1
@UT Martin 3, Tennessee Tech 2
@UT Martin 4, Tennessee Tech 3
@Eastern Illinois 4, Morehead State 0
@Eastern Illinois 11, Morehead State 1 (5)
Belmont 14, @Austin Peay 7
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, TENNESSEE STATE 1; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, TENNESSEE STATE 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (14-10, 3-0) hit seven home runs to power its way to a 6-0, 11-3, doubleheader sweep of Tennessee State (9-16, 0-3) Saturday at the Southeast Softball Complex.
SEMO opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a three-game sweep of TSU. The Redhawks also gave Mark Redburn his 400th career win as an NCAA Division I head coach with their five-inning victory in the nightcap. Redburn is in his 13th year overall coaching at the NCAA Division I level and eighth season at SEMO.
Kat Sackett hit two home runs and Paytience Holman was strong in the circle during SEMO's game one victory.
Holman set the tone by retiring eight-straight hitters after giving up a leadoff single in the top of the first inning.
Sackett got SEMO on the board in the bottom of the second inning with her first career home run, a two-run shot inside the right field foul pole. Kynzie Wrigley singled ahead of Sackett for the Redhawks first hit of the contest.
Wrigley and Sackett again delivered consecutive hits, this time with two outs in the bottom of the third. Wrigley doubled off the left field wall to score both Alyson Tucker and Kaylee Anderson before Sackett stepped in and homered to center extending the Redhawks lead to 6-0.
Holman (3-2) went the distance for her second complete game in four starts. She recorded a season-high eight strikeouts, gave up five hits and walked none en route to her first shutout this year.
Francys King (1-6) suffered the loss. King allowed six runs on seven hits, struck out three and walked two in six innings.
SEMO outhit TSU, 7-5. Sackett finished at 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBI, and Wrigley went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
The Redhawks unloaded to hit four home runs as part of a seven-run second inning to blow by the Tigers in game two.
Paige Halliwill started the ambush with a one-out solo home run to right center. After a double by Tatum Gerwitz and walk by Alyson Tucker, Wrigley and Kaylee Anderson hit back-to-back homers to left. Chelsy Pena then belted her first career home run to left to put SEMO ahead, 8-1.
After TSU scored twice in the top of the fifth, SEMO nailed down its second run-rule victory of the series in the bottom half of the inning.
Pinch-hitter Abigail Rickermann led things off with a triple and scored on an ensuing base hit by Karsy Davis. On the next play, Halliwill stepped in and blasted her second home run of the game over the left field wall to polish off the 11-8 win.
Marisa Davis (2-2) picked up the win. Davis struck out two and walked one in 4.1 innings.
Caitlyn Manus (5-3) took the loss. Manus gave up six runs on five hits, struck out one and walked one in just 1.1 innings.
SEMO pounded out 10 hits with Halliwill and Gerwitz contributing two apiece. Wrigley and Halliwill added two runs and three RBI, as well.
MURRAY STATE 6, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Bailley Concatto provided the highlight of the day for SIUE softball, a sixth-inning home run Sunday in the Ohio Valley Conference battle against Murray State.
The Racers defeated the Cougars 6-1 in the third game of the series. Murray State improved to 19-8 overall and 3-0 in the OVC while SIUE fell to 8-16 overall and 0-3 in the OVC.
Murray State's Hannah James outdueled SIUE starter Mia Haynes in the circle Sunday. James combined with Jenna Veber to allow four hits.
Haynes allowed nine hits and struck out six. Her season record is now 4-9.
BELMONT 14, AUSTIN PEAY 7
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s Lexi Osowski hit two of the Governors three home runs versus Belmont, Sunday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, but it wasn’t enough, as the Governors fell to the Bruins in their Ohio Valley Conference series finale, 14-7.
The Govs (13-14, 0-3 OVC) got into a hole early, as they saw the Bruins score six runs in the top of the first inning, with Kristen Green, Elison Ollinger and Emily Cockrill picking up two RBIs each.
Osowski would hit the first of her two home runs in the bottom of the first, a two-run shot, that also drove in Bailey Shorter, to make it 6-2.
The Govs would continue to chip away at Belmont’s lead in the second inning, scoring two more runs, this time on a two-run homer by Shorter, to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Austin Peay would cut the Belmont lead down to one run, 6-5, on Osowski’s second home run of the game in the third, but the Bruins extended their lead back out to four, 9-5, with three runs in the top of the fourth – highlighted by a two-run double by Greene.
Austin Peay would score twice in the fifth, including an RBI double by Brooke Pfefferle, to get back to within two runs, 9-7.
But that would be as close as the Govs would get, as the Bruins added a run in the sixth, coming on a hm run by Green, and four more runs in the seventh -- including three on a home run by Alicia Veltri for the 14-7 final.
UT MARTIN 4, TENNESSEE TECH 3; UT MARTIN 3, TENNESSEE TECH 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - UT Martin completed the three-game sweep of Tennessee Tech today with a pair or wins. The Skyhawks took game one, 3-2 and won the second game, 4-3.
The Skyhawks (16-7, 3-0 Ohio Valley Conference) scored a go-ahead run in the fifth inning of the day’s opener as Katie Dreiling had an RBI grounder to second to score Anna Blanton to take a 3-2 lead that held through the remainder of the contest.
In game two, the Golden Eagles (17-9, 0-3 OVC) led 3-0 through the home half of the sixth inning, but the Skyhawks tied the game in the home half on Emily Gilstrap’s two-run single, then a bases-loaded walk to Dreiling to knot the game.
UTM claimed the walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh as Kaci Fuller hit a bunt single toward third, but an errant throw allowed Maddi Long to score from first to give the Skyhawks the 4-3 victory.
Kaylan Cole drove in both of Tech’s runs in the first game, putting a single into right field to drive in Carmen Betts and Haeli Bryson. Dreiling, however, tied the game up in the home half of the first on a two-run homer to center field.
Bryson (2-2) took the loss in the opener, going 5 1/3 innings as she allowed three runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out three. Tyler Erwin pitched the final two-thirds, throwing up blanks across the line.
Erin Gallagher (5-1) earned the victory, allowing two runs on three hits, walking two and striking out four across five frames. Dreiling also pitched two innings of shutout ball to close out the Golden Eagles.
In game two, Tech took a 2-0 lead in the fourth as Abby Buettner hit a two-run home run – her fifth in the last nine days. The Golden Eagles extended the lead to 3-0 in the top of the sixth as Bryson hit a solo home run to left center.
Alyssa Arden (9-6) took the loss, allowing three earned runs on nine hits, walking four and striking out two. Seeley Layne (3-1) was the pitcher of record when the Skyhawks took the lead, earning the victory. Layne went two frames and struck out three. Alexis Groet lasted 2 1/3 innings in the start, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out one, before Dreiling threw the next 2 2/3, allowing three runs on four hits.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, MOREHEAD STATE 0; EASTERN ILLINOIS 11, MOREHEAD STATE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball extended its win streak to nine games as the Panthers completed a weekend sweep of Morehead State on Sunday afternoon winning both games of a doubleheader at Williams Field.
EIU won the opener 4-0 before closing the series with an 11-1 win in five innings. EIU improved to 16-12 overall, 3-0 in the OVC. Morehead State fell to 1-18 overall, 0-3 in the OVC.
EIU 4, MOREHEAD STATE 0
Freshman Alexa Rehmeier was sharp in the circle allowing just one Morehead State hit as she struck out ten Eagles batters during a complete game 4-0 shutout win.
Morehead State’s lone hit came in the bottom of the third inning by Eagles starting pitcher Bree Sexton. Sexton would single and end the inning on second base after a stolen base. Rehmeier would strike out the final batter of the inning to end the threat. She would set down the final eight batters in order including four by strikeout as she improved to 6-2 on the season.
EIU would manufacture the first run of the game as Briana Gonzalez opened the bottom of the third with a single. She would move to second on a sacrifce bunt by Marama Makea. Gonzalez advanced to third on a deep fly out by Megan Burton and would come around to score on an errant throw as she advanced to third.
In the fourth inning Sexton pitched out of a bases loaded jam holding EIU’s lead to 1-0. In the fifth the Panthers again loaded the bases but this time were able to capitalize, scoring two runs against Sexton. Riley Dittmar drew a bases loaded walk followed by a ground out RBI by Maddie Swart to put EIU up 3-0.
The Panthes final run came in the sixth on a ground out RBI by Hannah Cravens. Jaylen Prichard was the lone EIU player with multiple hits going 2-for-3.
Sexton suffered the loss in her first start of the season. She allowed only five EIU hits but was hampered by eight walks during her six innings of work falling to 0-1.
EIU 11, MOREHEAD STATE 1
Eastern Illinois jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning as the Panthers took advantage of four walks coupled with six hits as the Panthers cruised to an 11-1 win.
Riley Dittmar and Hannah Cravens both had two run hits in the inning while Marama Makea and Kendall Fields both added RBI singles. Maddie Swart and Amber Cieplinksi capped the scoring in the inning with both drawing bases loaded walks.
EIU extended the lead to 10-0 in the second with Swart and Cieplinksi both collecting RBI singles during the inning.
Marama Makea would drive home the final run for EIU in the bottom of the fourth as Dittmar, Cravens, Swart, Cieplinksi and Makea all had two RBI in the game. Makea was the lone EIU player with multiple hits in the contest finishing 2-for-3 as head coach Tara Archibald used several different pinch hitters in the game.
Morehead State would score its lone run of the day in the top of the third. Kirya Kingery would double to left center to drive home the Eagles run. Kingery had one of the two hits for Morehead State in the game. Taylor Rhea picked up the other hit leading off the third.
Tieghan Morio pitched four strong innings finishing with four strikeouts to improve to 4-3 on the season. Maya Morris suffered the loss falling to 0-2 as she left game in the first inning.