ATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 4, Morehead State 0
@SIUE 2, Tennessee Tech 0
Tennessee Tech 3, @SIUE 0
@UT Martin 8, Lindenwood 3
@Tennessee State 3, Southern Indiana 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, MOREHEAD STATE 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Olivia Price extended her consecutive inning streak of not allowing a run in Ohio Valley Conference play to 21.1 innings as she tossed a complete shutout on Saturday during Eastern Illinois 4-0 win over Morehead State at Williams Field.
Price (13-3) scattered six Morehead State hits and was backed up by solid defense as EIU swept the weekend series to improve to 29-15 overall, 15-2 in the OVC. MSU fell to 11-24, 6-12 in the OVC.
The Eagles placed runners at second and third in the first inning with two outs, but Price closed the inning with a strike out, one of five she would have in the game.
Morehead State placed runners at second base in the second and third but could not find the big hit against the Panthers. The best scoring chance came in the sixth with EIU leading 4-0 as Madeline Gailor singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice. On the next play Taylor Rhea singled to center but Gailor was thrown out at the plate by Jaylen Prichard as she attempted to score from second. Price struck out on the next batter to close the frame.
Prichard added to her solid defensive play going 3-for-4 at the plate for EIU driving in one of the Panthers four runs. Prichard had an RBI double in the second scoring Briana Gonzalez staking EIU to a 1-0 early lead.
Aniya Holt had a ground out RBI to drive in the Panthers run in the third while Lindy Milkowski added to her OVC leading RBI total in the fourth with a two-run single to left.
Prichard was the only Panther with multiple hits in the game as two MSU pitchers held EIU to just seven hits. Jessie Begley (4-6) suffered the loss for MSU. Gailor finished with two hits for the Eagles.
SIUE 2, TENNESSEE TECH 0; TENNESSEE TECH 3, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Sydney Baalman tossed a two-hitter for her fourth solo shutout of the season as SIUE softball split a doubleheader with Tennessee Tech Saturday at Cougar Field.
The Cougars, 19-23 overall and 5-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference, took the opener 2-0 and dropped the nightcap 3-0. The two teams will play the deciding game of the series Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
Baalman lowered her season earned run average to a team-leading 2.68 and improved her season record to 9-8.
SIUE scored its only runs in the fifth inning. Paige Rocha singled home Grace Lueke. Emma Neuman followed up with an infield out that resulted in Sherri Mason scoring.
Lueke was the offense star for the Cougars, collecting a season-high three hits that included a pair of doubles.
In game two, Tennessee Tech broke up Rylie Pindel's no-hit bid in the top of the seventh. All five of their hits came in the three-run seventh inning.
Kaylan Cole scattered three hits for Tennessee Tech for her third win in the circle of the season.
UT MARTIN 8, LINDENWOOD 3
MARTIN, Tenn. - – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team scored early and often on the way to an 8-3 victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon to open a three-game series.
The Skyhawks (18-19, 11-7 OVC) scored a pair of runs in each of the first two innings and never looked back in the team’s final home series of the 2023 season. UT Martin scattered 12 hits throughout the game while three players tallied multi-hit performances.
Meanwhile in the pitcher’s circle, the squad allowed just one earned run in seven innings.
In a weekend which is posed to have a lot of pomp and circumstance, graduate infielder Kallie Pickens set the tone for the squad by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored out of the two-hole in the lineup. Not to be outdone, junior Maddi Long also went 3-for-4 in the batter’s box while picking up two RBIs.
The offense was not restricted to just those two as Avry Blume also posted a multi-hit afternoon after going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Meanwhile, graduate infielder Kaitlyn Kelley also drove in a pair with a two-out single in the fifth inning.
The pitching staff split up the contest with nobody pitching more than three innings. Brooklynn Linneman earned the start and allowed zero earned runs in three innings while striking out three. Katie Dreiling (10-6) picked up her 10th win of the season after entering in the fourth inning and pitching two scoreless frames while allowing just one hit. Ashtyn Green closed out the contest with one earned run in two innings.
Lindenwood (13-25, 5-10 OVC) fell behind in an early hole but scratched out a few runs down the stretch. Theresa Snaidauf hit leadoff for the Lions and wrapped up the day with a two-hit afternoon. Meanwhile, Morgan Gersch also notched a multi-hit afternoon while adding one of the team’s RBIs, joining Tori Hatton and Mya Bethany with the others.
Avery Wapp (4-7) was credited with the loss after allowing nine hits and four earned runs over four innings of work. Molly Heidrick also saw action in the circle, allowing two runs in two innings.
UT Martin jumped out to an early advantage with two runs in the first inning. A walk by Dreiling was sandwiched between a pair of singles by Pickens and Long to load the bases. After the Lions got the second out of the inning they could not halt the Skyhawks opportunity, as Blume ripped a single to right field which allowed to runs to come home.
The home squad added to their advantage in the second inning. Two errors by Lindenwood proved costly as Kelley reached on a throwing error before Long later drove in a pair with a single to left field which was compounded by a fielding mishap in the outfield.
Lindenwood finally got on the board in the third inning. After Snaidauf reached on a single to center field, she swiped second base and advanced to third as the throw-down sailed into centerfield. With a runner at third base and one out, the Lions converted their opportunity as Hatton singled through the left side to cut into the deficit.
The score remained the same until the fifth inning when the Skyhawks blew the game wide open. Entering the half-inning with a three-run advantage, the Skyhawks pushed their margin out to seven with a four-run frame. After the first three batters of the inning reached via a pair of hits and a walk, Jordyn Hustey was hit with a pitch to drive in a run. The Lions nearly escaped the big inning with a pair of infield pop ups but the Skyhawks still made them pay as Kelley laced a two-run single through the left side before Dreiling worked a four-pitch at-bat into a bases loaded walk.
Facing a seven-run deficit, the Lions chipped away at the lead with an RBI-single by Gersch in the sixth inning before Bethany added the team’s third run of the game in the top of the seventh. The rally was too little, too late however, as the final score signaled the Skyhawks coming away with an 8-3 win.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee State defeated Southern Iindiana, 3-0, in the first game of the series.
Full recap coming soon.