FRIDAY'S SCORES
Delaware 7,
SIUE 3
SIUE 4, Illinois State 2
Southeast Missouri 5, College of Charleston 4 (11)
Southeast Missouri 7 @Lipscomb 1
Georgia State 3, T
ennessee State 0
Coastal Carolina 3,
Tennessee State 2
Murray State 8, Ball State 0 (5)
Northern Kentucky 1,
Murray State 0
@Austin Peay 3, Northern Iowa 2
@Austin Peay 4, Northern Illinois 3
North Alabama 10,
Eastern Illinois 6
Eastern Illinois 9, Alabama State 4
DELAWARE 7, SIUE 3; SIUE 4, ILLINOIS STATE 2
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Timely hitting and a pair of strong pitching performances gave SIUE softball a split of games Friday at the FAU Tournament.
SIUE, 4-8, dropped the opening game of the day 7-3 to Delaware and came back to defeat in-state rival Illinois State 4-2.
The Cougars opened up a 4-0 lead against Illinois State behind RBIs from Piper Montgomery, Lauren Yslava and Bailey Concatto.
Yslava had five hits on the day, including a perfect 3-for-3 performance against Illinois State.
Lexi King threw 6 1/3 innings for her first victory of the season.
King scattered six hits and struck out six.
Mia Haynes, who dropped game one, came back and picked the final two outs in game two for her first save.
Haynes struck out nine against Delaware, but her 10th of the day sealed the victory.
Haynes and Katie Smith both had RBIs against Delaware as the Cougars were held to seven hits. Ysalava and Grace Lueke each had two.
The Cougars are back at FAU Softball Stadium Saturday morning with an 8 a.m. CT rematch against Delaware followed by a 9:30 a.m. meeting with Purdue.
MURRAY STATE 8, BALL STATE 0; NORTHERN KENTUCKY 1, MURRAY STATE 0
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Murray State softball (10-6) have won nine of their last 12 games, splitting the opening day at SIU's Coach B Classic mercy-ruling Ball State (4-8), 8-0 in six innings, before being shut out by the Northern Kentucky Norse (8-8), 1-0 on Friday in Carbondale, Illinois.
Game One – Murray State 8, Ball State 0 (6)
The Racers used a five-run sixth and Hannah James' two-hit performance to help the Racers win their fourth straight.
Logan Braundmeier put the Racers up 1-0 in the first, scoring on an overthrow at third base.
In the fourth, Lindsey Carroll smacked her third triple of the season over the head of the right fielder on the hit-and-run as Gracie Osbron and Sierra Gilmore came around to score from first and second.
A great catch at the wall by Jensen Striegel kept the Cardinals off the board in the fifth.
After Gilmore walked to leadoff the sixth, Osbron crushed a two-run shot over the wall in dead center to extend the lead to 5-0. Back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases for Striegel who beat out an infield single, plating one. Next batter, Isabella Wilson was hit by the pitch to score another and Braundmeier ended the game with an RBI single to left field.
James was dominate in the circle throwing all fivsixe innings. She struck out five in the two-hitter.
Game Two – Murray State 3, NKU 1
The bats were quiet in the night cap against Northern Kentucky as neither team could muster much offensively. There were seven three-up-three-down half innings as the Racers were held to one hit while the Norse held to two hits.
The only run to score was an unearned run by the Norse in the bottom of the fifth.
Jenna Veber took the loss, despite not allowing an earned run. She threw 5.1 innings striking out five while Emma Olejniczak replaced Veber in the bottom of the six to throw 0.2 innings.
The Racers continue at the Coach B Classic facing Big Ten foe Northwestern tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Carbondale, Illinois.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, NORTHERN IOWA 2; AUSTIN PEAY 4, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s softball team swept it two games on the opening day of the Governors Classic, walking off Northern Iowa, 3-2, in the opener and edging Northern Illinois in the night cap, 4-3.
The Governors (11-5) trailed Northern Iowa 2-0 heading into their final at bat, but a walk to pinch hitter Morgan McMahon, followed by a single by Morgan Zuege opened the inning and was followed two outs later by a first-pitch home run off the scoreboard in left field by Lexi Osowski to lift the Govs to a 3-2 win.
Jordan Benefiel (6-2) got the win for APSU, giving up two runs on four hits.
In the night cap versus Northern Illinois, the Govs jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a RBI triple by Osowski, with the Govs extended its lead to 3-0 in the third on a two-run double by Mea Clark.
The Huskies would cut the lead back to one, 3-2, with two runs of their own in the fourth, but Austin Peay added an insurance run in the fifth on Clark’s fourth home run of the season.
Northern Illinois would scratch across a run in the top of the seventh to make it a one-run game, but Samantha Miener, who picked up her first collegiate save in relief of Harley Mullins (2-0), got out of the inning to secure the 4-3 victory.
GEORGIA STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0; COASTAL CAROLINA 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Tennessee State softball team dropped a pair of games in the Bubly Invitational to Georgia State and Coastal Carolina.
Georgia State 3, Tennessee State 0
TOP 4TH: The Panthers' Daisy Hess doubled down the left field line. GSU's catcher, Carolyn Deady, secured the first lead of the game with an RBI single up the middle. Havalynn Abernathy pinch-ran for Deady and stole second. Georgia State loaded bases loaded with a walk and hit-by-pitch. Emily Brown extended the lead with a two-RBI double to right center field. || GSU, 3-0
Francys King made her fourth start of the year as she went four innings, allowing three runs on three hits and struck out three batters.
Caitlyn Manus entered the circle in relief and shut the door with three perfect innings; the right-hander faced nine batters, struck out two and allowed no hits or free passes.
Mikayla Duke and Maggie Klug collected the lone hits for TSU.
Duke has recorded a base hit in six of the last seven games.
It was the fifth time in relief for Manus, as the freshman's totaled 10 appearances on the season.
In six of nine losses, the Tigers have been shutout by the opponent.
Final: Coastal Carolina 3, Tennessee State 2
HOW IT HAPPENED:
TOP 1ST: CCU's Riley Zana blasted a two-out home run down the left field line to take the initial lead. || CCU 1-0
BOT 5TH: Ryla Traylor reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a ground-out. Mikayla Duke singled to left field to score Traylor from second base. Duke stole second and moved to third base after a throwing error by Coastal's first basemen. Duke, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., used her speed to score on a wild pitch to give TSU the lead. || TSU, 2-1
TOP 6TH: Coastal Carolina responded with a double to left field from Zana. The hot-hitter advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error by TSU's third basemen. || TIED, 2-2
TOP 8TH: With the international tie-break rule in effect in extra innings, Kennedy Ellis was the last out recorded in the seventh and was placed on second base. Ellis advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a throwing error by the Tiger's second basemen. || CCU, 3-2
Caitlyn Manus tossed seven innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits.
Raven Loveless received the unfortunate loss with the placed runner, as she allowed one unearned run on one hit and one walk.
Mikayla Duke led the team offensively, 1-for-3, with an RBI, a run scored and stolen base.
Duke has recorded a base hit in seven of the last eight games.
Manus, a transfer from Campbellsville, struck out a season-high nine batters.
It was the second extra-inning game for TSU this season.
Tennessee State will take the field on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 9:30am CST. Game one against Coastal Carolina to begin the day, with game two approx. 30 minutes following against No. 4 Florida.