SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 4, @Morehead State 2
@Belmont 1, Eastern Illinois 0
@Belmont 7, Eastern Illinois 4
Murray State 7, @Tennessee Tech 3
Murray State 10, @Tennessee Tech 1 (5)
@UT Martin 9, Austin Peay 1
@SIUE 7, Southeast Missouri 4
TENNESSEE STATE 4, MOREHEAD STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Tennessee State came up big when it was needed and consequently, the Tigers came away with a 4-2, eight-inning victory in Saturday's final game of the series with Morehead State in Morehead.
TSU nearly saw its 2-1 lead evaporate in the bottom of the seventh inning when MSU junior center fielder Trinity Spear hit a one-out, run-scoring triple deep into left-center field. Taylor Rhea drew a one-out walk to set up the scoring opportunity. However, the Eagles were unable to get Spear home and the game went into extra innings, the first for Morehead State (7-34/6-18) this season since a February 19 game at Gardner-Webb.
Behind two nearly perfect performances between both pitchers, just three batters reached base through three and a half innings. In the bottom of the fourth, MSU picked up its first hit with a Peyton Rose single to center field. Earlier in the frame, Peyton Slater earned the team's second walk of the day, but that was as close as the Eagles could get to scoring.
Tennessee State (15-36/6-19) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth after having three straight hits to start the inning. Ryla Traylor singled to shortstop, Anayah Baker doubled to right field and Marisa Mauroschadt doubled down the right-field line to drive both home. The Eagles were able to stifle the rally with a double play during the next at-bat.
MSU answered in the bottom of the inning when leadoff batter Rhea hit her first home run this season with a shot that went over the fence in right-center field.
Both teams picked up a hit in the sixth, but neither runner advanced past second base.
Traylor singled and stole second to start the seventh, before moving to third after Baker lined a shot up the middle. But, the Eagles were able to contain the Tiger bats inducing the next two batters to commit outs.
MSU threatened to win the game in the seventh. After Rhea's walk and Spear's triple, Erin Boyle laid down a bunt but the Tigers held Spear at third and Boyle eventually walked safely to second. However, the next two batters produced outs, leaving Spear and Boyle stranded.
Tennessee State put the game away in the eighth. After a strikeout began the inning, Jasmine Brown singled to third and advanced to second on a throwing error. Lauren Farias reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second. Peyton Fointno singled to the shortstop to score Brown. Fointno stole second and pinch hitter Alyssi Drayton hit a sac fly into center field with Farias beating the throw to the plate. Traylor then singled to left, pushing Fointno to third, but the next batter ended the inning.
Alexis Strother singled to left-center with one out in the bottom of the frame, but the next two batters hit into outs on their first pitch to end the game.
Traylor led TSU with a 3-for-4 performance and also scored a run. Seven Tigers collected hits, with Baker and Brown each finishing with two. Marisa Mauroschadt recorded two RBI.
Five different Eagles had at least one hit. Rhea and Spear were each credited with an RBI.
Francys King (3-10) picked up the win in a complete game. She allowed two earned runs on five hits, with three walks and one strikeout.
Lennon Spicer fell to 6-17. She also went the distance, but surrendered 11 hits and three earned runs. She struck out five, but did not walk a batter.
BELMONT 1, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0; BELMONT 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont University Softball successfully defeated Eastern Illinois University in both games of the doubleheader to kick off the three game series. An eventful day at E.S. Rose Park filled with face painting, balloon animals, pictures with Bruiser, base running, senior celebration, and a power outage. Through all the commotion the Bruins stayed strong to pull out a 1-0 win and a 7-4 win over the Panthers.
Belmont Softball recognized Lauren Veltri, Jessica Parente, Elison Ollinger, Cheyenne Cavanaugh, and Alicia Veltri before game one for all of their success on the field and in the classroom through their careers at Belmont.
Game One:
The Bruins posted their seventh shutout of the season against the Panthers to secure game one. Pitcher Emma Summers posted her twelfth win on the season with six strikeouts allowing six hits.
Cavanaugh led off the Bruins with a single advancing to second on a poor throw, on the day Cavanaugh went 6-7 in the box. Green was then hit by a pitch, the Bruins left two on this inning but the drive for runs was there.
Two strikeouts for Emma Summers in the second to keep the game moving and give her defense a breather. The Bruins were unsuccessful in the second to score.
Four walks in a row for the Bruins in the third, tactical against the Panther's pitching scored the lone run in the 1-0 victory over the EIU.
The final innings were a pitchers game with numerous pop-ups from both teams. The Panthers out hit the Bruins 6-2 but the Bruins came out with the win. Both Baie Ensio and Cheyenne Cavanaugh had SportsCenter Top 10 worthy catches in the outfield to secure outs for the Bruins.
Game Two:
The Bruins led a more intense game in the second. Leadoff hitter Cavanaugh got the Bruins going in the first, ripping a double to right field. She was quickly brought home by Abi Ledbetter on an RBI single that dropped near the infield of right field.
Singles from Veltri and Ensio energized the Bruins in the second. Ensio proceeded to steal second for two runners in scoring position. Cavanaugh with her second double on the day brought home Indy Cockrill who pinch ran for Veltri as well as Ensio, 3-0.
Bottom third, Alicia Veltri put on a show not only in the circle but at the plate as well. Helping herself out, Veltri blasted a two run homerun deep past center field.
A three RBI double from Panther's Rachel Kufman put EIU on the board for the first time of the day. However, this board did not last long as there was a park wide power outage in the middle of the fifth. No scoreboard, no music, just some good softball.
The Bruins extended their lead in the sixth, Emily Cockrill laid down a beautiful bunt. A throwing error led her to take second and Ollinger to score. Gabrielle Givers with a sacrifice fly brought home Veltri, 7-3.
A last ditch effort from the Panther's secured an additional run in the seventh also on a sacrifice fly. The Bruins were able to get out of the inning with little damage and secure the win.
MURRAY STATE 7, TENNESSEE TECH 3; MURRAY STATE 10, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.
UT MARTIN 9, AUSTIN PEAY 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team rode a big three-hit, six-RBI afternoon from Avry Blume to take the series opener against Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon on the way to an early 9-1 sixth inning victory.
The Skyhawks (28-16, 13-7 OVC) opened their final homestand of the season on the right foot by scattering 12 hits across the six innings while using strong pitching to strand seven Governor base runners.
Four different players for UT Martin tallied multi-hit efforts led by Blume’s 3-for-4 performance, including a trio of two-RBI knocks to lead the team with six for the day. Kaitlyn Kelley also posted a three-hit afternoon while Kaci Fuller and Shyanne Sheffield continued their hot-hitting during league play with a pair of knocks each.
Starter Alexis Groet (11-7) earned her 11th victory of the season after pitching five shutout inning before exiting following a solo home run in the sixth. For the afternoon, Groet only allowed five balls to leave the infield while striking out one in five-plus inning of work. Katie Dreiling entered the game in a key situation in the sixth inning with two runners on and the tying run on deck before retiring the following three batters in order to earn her fourth save of the season – setting a new program single-season save record.
Austin Peay (26-21, 13-10 OVC) tallied six hits in the contest but received its lone run of the day on a solo home run by Lexi Osowski down the left field line. Morgan Zuege paced the team with two hits out of the nine-hole while Harley Mullins (9-6) was hit with the loss after allowing five earned runs in 4.1 innings of work.
The Skyhawks jumped on the board first with a run in the second inning. With two runners on base following a fielder’s choice and the first of three hit Skyhawks of the day, Maddi Long singled up the middle to score Kallie Pickens from second to take an early 1-0 lead.
The home squad added to lead in the third inning after back-to-back singles by Fuller and Sheffield led off the inning before a walk to Dreiling loaded the bases with two out. With a prime scoring opportunity at hand, Blume ripped the clutch single through the left side to score a pair and push their advantage out to three runs.
Another pair of singles led off a scoring inning in the fifth frame from the bats of Kelley and Pickens before the tandem both moved into scoring position on a deep fly. With runners on second and third, Blume went opposite field by ripping a single just inside the right field line to score the pair and give the Skyhawks a 5-0 lead.
The Governors finally got on the board in the sixth inning when Osowski – one of the league’s most potent bats – hammered a solo home run into the wind down the left field line for her 13th of the season. Following the home run, the Govs worked back-to-back walks to chase Groet from the game and bring in Dreiling in a tough situation. Much like she has all season, Dreiling rose to the challenge and used her defense to retire the next three batters in order and strand the pair in scoring position.
With the four-run lead intact, the Skyhawks looked for the final blow in the bottom of the sixth. The half inning began with Paige Clark being hit by a pitch before later scoring on an RBI single through the right side by Sheffield. The Skyhawks would ultimately load the bases to set up Dreiling who drove in a run with an RBI groundout for the team's seventh run before Blume ended the game with a two-run double to left center which gave the home squad the necessary eight-run advantage.
SIUE 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Bailley Concatto blasted a grand slam on her own Senior Day as SIUE softball defeated Southeast Missouri 7-4 at Cougar Field.
The home run came in SIUE's six-run fourth inning as the Cougars took the first game of a three-game series against the Redhawks.
The two teams will play a noon doubleheader Sunday.
Seven straight players reached base in the fourth inning led by fellow senior Amber Storer.
The third senior of the Senior Day trio, Kylie Lane, pinch ran for Storer and scored the first run of the inning when Grace Bretveld drew a pinch-hit walk with the bases loaded.
Lexi King also singled home a run before Concatto unleashed her third home run of the season.
Mia Haynes picked up her seventh victory of the season after yielding just five hits for the complete-game win.
Rachel Rook, 14-9, took the loss for Southeast Missouri.