TUESDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 12, Eastern Illinois 11
@SIUE 7, Eastern Illinois 3
@Murray State 2, Austin Peay 1
@Murray State 2, Austin Peay 0
@Belmont 10, Tennessee State 2
@Belmont 7, Tennessee State 0
@Ole Miss 8,
UT Martin 3
SIUE 12, EASTERN ILLINOIS 11; SIUE 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE softball's offense came alive Tuesday and led the Cougars to an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader sweep over visiting Eastern Illinois at Cougar Field.
SIUE defeated EIU 12-11 in the opener and 7-3 in the nightcap, improving its season mark to 10-19 overall and 2-6 in the OVC. The Panthers dropped to 17-16 overall and 4-4 in the OVC.
In what was likely the best offensive day of the year for the Cougars began with a nine-run first inning. SIUE sent 13 batters to the plate highlighted by a two-run single by Aerin Talley and two hits by leadoff hitter Lexi King.
The Cougars knocked out EIU starter Alexa Rehmeier but had trouble with reliever Olivia Price, who sent down 13 straight batters before Talley singled and later scored a key run in the sixth.
The EIU offense didn't let up, scoring 11 straight runs to lead 11-9 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Talley would score to make it 11-10 on a sacrifice fly by Grace Lueke.
EIU's offense, however, was halted in its tracks by Sydney Baalman, who was in relief of Mia Haynes and Kelsey Ray. Baalman, who earned the victory, did not give up a hit over the final 1 2/3 innings.
That set up the bottom of the seventh with the Cougars down by a run. Price quickly got into a jam by walking Piper Montgomery and allowing a single to Amber Storer.
The Panthers re-entered Rehmeier to try to get the save. With Micah Arps pinch running for Montgomery and Sam Breed pinch running for Storer, Rehmeier started her second attempt of the day by hitting Grace Bretveld to load the bases.
Rehmeier did get an out but then faced a determined Jenna Herron.
Herron laced a pitch to center field that easily plated both Arps and Breed for the victory.
In game two, SIUE jumped out to another strong lead with four runs in the first inning.
King's base hit started it all. Including an infield error, the first four runners reached base. A Storer home run to left field would highlight the inning.
King also went the distance in the circle, blanking the Panthers until the seventh. She allowed just six hits and struck out three. As a hitter, King had two hits in each game.
SIUE added single tallies in the next three innings. Lueke singled home a run in the second. Talley picked up an RBI in the third. Lauren Yslava added an RBI double in the fourth.
MURRAY STATE 2, AUSTIN PEAY 1; MURRAY STATE 2, AUSTIN PEAY 0
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State softball team extended its current winning streak to a program-record 14 games Tuesday, with adoubleheader sweep of rival Austin Peay, 2-1 and 2-0, at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky. Currently 24-8 on the season, the Racers are now out the best start in program history.
Game 1 – Murray State 2, Austin Peay 1
Pinch hitter Erin Lackey was the hero of the opener, as she singled to right field with the bases loaded and two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the seventh with the Racers down, 1-0. With her single deep in right field, Isabella Wilson scored from third, followed by Jordan Caple from second to give the Racers their first lead of the game and the walk-off win.
Hannah James picked up the win in the contest by allowing no earned runs on two hits with nine strikeouts and no walks over a complete game performance.
Game 2 – Murray State 2, Austin Peay 0
In game two, no such heroics were needed as Kamryn Carcich and Jenna Veber combined for a three-hit shutout. Carcich allowed two hits over the first three innings, while Veber allowed only one over the final four innings.
Isabella Wilson scored the only two runs of the game for Murray State, but her two-RBI single in the second proved to be all the offense needed for the win in the finale. Gracie Osbron and Lily Fischer also tallied hits in the game and both scored a run, thanks to the single from Wilson.
BELMONT 10, TENNESSEE STATE 2; BELMONT 7, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A beautiful Tuesday night in Nashville for Belmont University Softball to sweep the double header against the Tennessee State University Tigers to improve their win streak to 11 games, breaking the program record for the longest win streak in a season. The Bruins are now 17-7 on the season and undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference tying for first place alongside Murray State.
The Bruins have continued to prove themselves this season continuously adding to the win column against fierce competition. Today alone the Bruins scored 17 runs, on 23 hits, posting no errors in twelve innings.
"I really like how we are playing right now. We are finding lots of different ways to win, and it's great to get off to a good start in conference play. We have a long way to go and a lot of very good OVC teams still to play, but I'm proud of where we are right now," Head Coach Matthews on the Bruins performance in conference play.
Game One:
In the Bruins five inning victory, the Tigers went up early in the top of the first off of a double to bring in Farias, 1-0.
Belmont countered quickly, scoring two of their ten runs in the bottom of the first. Kristen Green ripped a single up the middle right through the pitchers legs to bring in both Cavanaugh and Ensio from their respective scoring positions, 2-0.
Lyle up to bat in the bottom of the second sent a bomb into left center field for a two run homerun, 4-0. Lyle's second home run of the season both at E.S. Rose Park, both in conference.
The Tigers scored their second run in similar fashion to their first off of a double to score Drayton, 4-2.
Bottom of the fourth, bases loaded, Killian Roberts reached first on a fielder's choice, an RBI to score Emily Cockrill, Audrey Lyle out at third, Cavanugh reached second. Ensio Green in the batter's box, ripped a bomb into right center for a three run home run, 8-2,
The Bruins defeated the Tigers in five innings adding two runs to their total, Emily Cockrill reached first on a Tigers error, tactical Gabrielle Givers saw the opportunity and scored. Cavanough singled to the shortstop, sending Emily Cockrill home on the throw to end the game, 10-2.
Emma Summers pitched a complete game with two strikeouts, allowing only one walk, and two earned runs.
Game Two:
The Bruins did not let up in the second matchup of the day, posting their third shutout of the season.
A quiet first inning for both teams was immediately ruptured in the bottom of the second with a Kristen Green solo home run to put the Bruins on the Board, 1-0. This sparked Belmont to earn an additional three runs this inning. Alicia Veltri singled to centerfield. Indy Cockrill came in to pinch run for Veltri advancing to second on a wild pitch, and stole third. A twin telepathy moment on the field after Emily Cockrill walked, she then proceeded to steal second as Lyle was entering the box. Indy Cockrill noticed the pitcher try to tag Emily Cockrill and successfully stole on the throw. Kaley Varner singled and proceeded to steal second, her speed brought her home on a Cheyenne Cavanaugh single up the middle, slapping the fence, 4-0.
The Bruins recorded one hit between the third and fourth innings courtesy of Abi Ledbetter. No runs were scored by either team due to fantastic defense.
Belmont extended their lead by two in the fifth from doubles by Baie Ensio and Ledbetter, 6-0.
The Bruins added an additional run to their shutout in the bottom of the sixth, Varner doubled to score Emily Cockrill, who previously singled then proceeded to steal both second and third, 7-0.
Alicia Veltri had one of her best games this season allowing only five hits, one walk, with three strikeouts.
OLE MISS 8, UT MARTIN 3
OXFORD, Miss. - A two-run home run by Avry Blume proved to be the team’s biggest hit as the University of Tennessee at Martin softball squad went on the road and went toe-to-toe with Southeastern Conference foe Ole Miss on Tuesday evening before ultimately falling 8-3.
The Skyhawks (18-11) scratched out four hits on the evening – including the big two-run bomb by Blume in the top of the second inning to highlight the contest. Kaci Fuller also posted a nice day with her 11th multi-hit outing of the season by going 2-for-4 with an RBI while Kallie Pickens rounded out the offensive notables by notching her ninth double of the season.
Ole Miss improved to 25-7 on the season after pushing its current winning streak to four games behind strong performances by Abbey Latham and Mikayla Allee who both tallied a pair of base hits and three RBIs in the contest. Then in the pitching circle, Brooke Vestal entered in relief and pitched five innings en route to a victory.
The Rebels jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first inning. After the first two batters of the game reached base for the home squad, Ole Miss received RBIs on three consecutive at bats from the trio of Latham, Allee and Aynslie Furbush to take the early 3-0 advantage.
UT Martin fought right back in the top of the second inning as Pickens laced a double into right center with one out of the board. Blume would make sure her teammate would not be left stranded as she launched her fourth home run of the season over the left field wall to cut the deficit down to one run.
Unfortunately, the new margin would be short-lived as a pair of Skyhawk errors and two big singles proved costly in the bottom of the second. An error on the potential third out of the inning led to the bases eventually becoming loaded and resulting in back-to-back two-run singles by both Latham and Allee to break the game open and give Ole Miss a 7-2 lead.
With the Skyhawks later trailing the contest 8-2, UT Martin put another run on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Emily Gilstrap led off the inning with a walk before being joined on the basepaths by Katie Dreiling as she reached via a fielding error. As runners stood on the corners with two outs, Fuller drove an opposite field single into left field for the RBI-single and the game’s final run.
Skyhawk starter Seeley Layne (4-2) suffered the loss in the contest after pitching 1.2 innings. Erin Gallagher appeared in relief and pitched tremendously over 4.1 innings with eight strikeouts. Additionally, she allowed just two hits and zero earned runs against the Rebels to continue her strong season.