SUNDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 2, @Eastern Illinois 1
Tennessee Tech 5, @Tennessee State 2
@Belmont 8, Morehead State 2
@Murray State 4, Southeast Missouri 0
Southeast Missouri 5, @Murray State 2
AUSTIN PEAY 2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Austin Peay State University center fielder Bailey Shorter came up big both at the plate and in the field in the final inning versus Eastern Illinois, Sunday afternoon at Williams Field, as the Governors swept the Panthers in their three-game Ohio Valley Conference series by taking the finale, 2-1.
Tied 1-1 heading into the top of the seventh inning, Emily Harkleroad got the Govs (24-20, 11-9 OVC) rally going by reaching base after being hit by a pitch.
Harkleroad moved to second on a ground ball by Morgan Zuege and was still in scoring position after the Panthers (21-26, 6-14 OVC) recorded the second out of the inning, bring up Shorter.
On a 1-0 count, Shorter rifled a single down the right field line, scoring Harkleroad with the go-ahead run, putting the Govs up, 2-1.
The Govs starter Jordan Benefiel (11-7), who headed into the bottom of the inning needing three outs for the complete-game win, got the first batter of the inning on strikes, bring up the top of the Panthers lineup.
Morgan Lewis looked to have a sure hit into the gap for extra-bases for EIU, but Shorter came out of nowhere, laying out for a diving catch taking the ball just off the top of the grass for the second out of the inning.
Benefiel, who only allowed one run on a walk and four hits, while striking out two, got the final out on a come backer to seal the 2-1 victory and the series sweep.
Austin Peay had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with Kylie Campbell, Mea Clark and Harkleroad all drawing walks to load the bases, with two outs.
Zuege would drive in Campbell with a slow roller to shortstop, beating the throw to first.
The Panthers would tie the game in the bottom of the third, 1-1, on two singles and a passed ball
TENNESSEE TECH 5, TENNESSEE STATE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An early start was enough to propel the Tennessee Tech softball team to a three-game sweep of Tennessee State on Sunday as the Golden Eagles plated three in the first inning and held on to a 5-2 victory.
The Golden Eagles (30-14, 12-8 Ohio Valley Conference) moved into fourth in the league standings, positioned four games back of co-conference leaders Murray State and Belmont, both square at 16-4 in the league. Tech hosts Morehead State (4-15) in a doubleheader on Wednesday before the Golden Eagles close out the home slate this weekend with Murray State.
Tyler Erwin picked up her 12th win of the season, allowing two runs to the Tigers on five hits, walking one and striking out two.
Her counterpart, Francys King, took the loss to fall to 2-10 on the year, allowing three runs on five hits over five innings, walking three and striking out three. Raven Loveless pitched the final two frames, allowing two runs – one earned – on three hits as she walked one.
Sydney Dukes went 3-for-3 and Mackenzie Fitzgerald 3-for-4, while Sydney Love-Baker and Savannah Talley each drove in two.
In the first, Fitzgerald led off with a single up the middle, then stole second. Carmen Betts drew a walk. Following a Bryson fly ball, Dukes also saw four balls to load the bases. Love-Baker laid down a bunt back to the circle, but a play couldn’t be made anywhere as Fitzgerald came in to score and the bags still juiced. Talley stood in and roped a double in right center, plating Betts and Dukes for a 3-0 lead.
TSU cut the lead down to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Anayah Baker led off the TSU turn, legging a hit to center field all the way to a triple, but an error there allowed Baker to come home to score. Marisa Mauroschadt also picked up an RBI, driving in Mikayla Duke on a single to center.
Tech picked up insurance with single runs in the sixth and the seventh. In the sixth, Abby Buettner came home to score on a Fitzgerald hit, then, in the seventh, Love-Baker put down another bunt single – this time to first base, sending Bryson home
BELMONT 8, MOREHEAD STATE 4
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An early start was enough to propel the Tennessee Tech softball team to a three-game sweep of Tennessee State on Sunday as the Golden Eagles plated three in the first inning and held on to a 5-2 victory.
The Golden Eagles (30-14, 12-8 Ohio Valley Conference) moved into fourth in the league standings, positioned four games back of co-conference leaders Murray State and Belmont, both square at 16-4 in the league. Tech hosts Morehead State (4-15) in a doubleheader on Wednesday before the Golden Eagles close out the home slate this weekend with Murray State.
Tyler Erwin picked up her 12th win of the season, allowing two runs to the Tigers on five hits, walking one and striking out two.
Her counterpart, Francys King, took the loss to fall to 2-10 on the year, allowing three runs on five hits over five innings, walking three and striking out three. Raven Loveless pitched the final two frames, allowing two runs – one earned – on three hits as she walked one.
Sydney Dukes went 3-for-3 and Mackenzie Fitzgerald 3-for-4, while Sydney Love-Baker and Savannah Talley each drove in two.
In the first, Fitzgerald led off with a single up the middle, then stole second. Carmen Betts drew a walk. Following a Bryson fly ball, Dukes also saw four balls to load the bases. Love-Baker laid down a bunt back to the circle, but a play couldn’t be made anywhere as Fitzgerald came in to score and the bags still juiced. Talley stood in and roped a double in right center, plating Betts and Dukes for a 3-0 lead.
TSU cut the lead down to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Anayah Baker led off the TSU turn, legging a hit to center field all the way to a triple, but an error there allowed Baker to come home to score. Marisa Mauroschadt also picked up an RBI, driving in Mikayla Duke on a single to center.
Tech picked up insurance with single runs in the sixth and the seventh. In the sixth, Abby Buettner came home to score on a Fitzgerald hit, then, in the seventh, Love-Baker put down another bunt single – this time to first base, sending Bryson home
MURRAY STATE 4, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, MURRAY STATE 2
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State softball team split its doubleheader with Southeast Missouri State Sunday afternoon at Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky, winning the first game, 4-0, but falling in game two, 5-2.
It was a tale of two games for the Racers Sunday. In game one, Murray State finally broke up a pitcher’s duel between the Racers’ Hannah James and Southeast Missouri’s Rachel Rook in the sixth when they scored the only four runs of the game. However, they got help from the Redhawks in scoring those runs, adding two singles to two walks, two errors and a hit by pitch from SEMO.
In the second game, it was the Racers helping out the Redhawks. SEMO tallied three hits in the third and also made Murray State pay by capitalizing on three Racer errors with a total of four runs. The Redhawks added an insurance run in the top of the fifth, which was answered by the Racers in the bottom of the frame, but it was not enough as MSU fell, 5-2.
The split leaves the Racers tied atop the OVC standings with eight scheduled home games left in the regular season. Murray State travels to Austin Peay Wednesday for a double header, before heading to Tennessee Tech for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday. The following week, the Racers return home to close out the regular season with a series against Morehead State, also on Saturday and Sunday. The remaining schedule for Belmont includes a doubleheader at Tennessee State and three-game sets at home against Eastern Illinois and at Southeast Missouri to close the season.
The game two loss put an end to a 17-game unbeaten streak at home for the Racers. The streak for MSU began with game two of a doubleheader against Loyola Chicago March 10, after losing their home opener earlier in the day to the Ramblers, 3-4 in nine innings.
Lilly Fischer had a big day for Murray State Sunday going a combined 3-for-4 with two runs, a double and three walks.
Hannah James recorded her fourth 10-plus strikeout game of the season by fanning 10 Redhawks in the first game. She finished the opener by allowing just no runs on just two hits with only one walk for her eighth solo shutout and 12th overall of the season.
Logan Braundmeier added to her school single-season double record in game two with her 22nd two-bagger of the season. She is now three from tying the OVC record of 25 and seven from tying the NCAA DI record. In addition, she also tattooed her team-high eighth home run of the season in the contest.