Ohio Valley Conference

MARTIN, Tenn. - Jesslyn Stairs blasted a two-run homer in the top of the seventh as SIUE softball completed a sweep of Tennessee Tech with a 6-4 win Saturday at Tech Softball Field.

The win improved SIUE's overall record to 10-12 with a 3-0 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Golden Eagles dropped to 2-17 and 0-3.

Next up on the schedule for the Cougars is the home opener, a 5 p.m. contest Tuesday against Minnesota.

Betsy Woodward kept the Cougars alive in the top of the seventh with a two-out single. That gave Stairs an opportunity to bat, and she connected with her first career home run. The left-handed hitting freshman from Des Moines, Iowa, hit her home run over the fence in right center.

SIUE had been locked up in a 4-4 contest with Tennessee Tech scoring all four of its runs in the second inning.

The Cougars had the early lead with single tallies in the first inning an RBI grounder from Kaylin Fahy and an RBI single by Abby Harvell in the second.

After the Golden Eagles grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second with four unearned runs, SIUE responded with an RBI double by Fahy in the third. Ashley Duran later would score on a wild pitch to tie the game.

McKayla Anderson was the winning pitcher for the Cougars. She replaced Avery Arwood in the second and went on to throw 5 1/3 scoreless innings.

LINDENWOOD 6, UT MARTIN 5  (10)
UT MARTIN 9, LINDENWOOD 6
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin softball split its opening day of Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday against Lindenwood at the Lou Brock Sports Complex in Saint Charles. In game one, the Lions outlasted the Skyhawks in 10 innings, 6-5, but UT Martin bounced back in game two with a 9-6 win.

In game one, Karena Recrosio and Kennedy Brown led off the game with a single and a double, respectively, and both were brought home two batters later on a single to center field from Avary Makarewicz. Lindenwood put up one run each in the second and third innings to tie the game, then took a 5-2 lead in the fourth, scoring on two errors by the Skyhawks and a stolen base.

However, in the top of the fifth, UT Martin answered right back, scoring three runs to tie the game at five. After leading off the frame with a single, Carly Ward advanced to second on a lion error, moved to third on a single from Kennedy Brown, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Ava Scott then tied the game at five with a two-RBI double that scored Kenndy Brown and Karena Recrosio, who reached on a hit by pitch.

Neither team scored in the sixth or seventh, sending the game to extra innings. The Skyhawks had runners in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but they were unable to plate the runs, leaving eight total runners on base on the day.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Skyhawks got the first out of the inning, but then gave up a walk, a single and a double in consecutive at-bats to give Lindenwood the 6-5 win.

Kennedy Brown went 3-for-5 in the game with a run and a double, while Makarewicz was 1-for-2 with a run, an RBI and three walks. Ava Scott made her lone hit of the count, scoring two runners on a double.

In game two, the Skyhawks jumped out to a big lead early. In the second, Ava Scott led off the frame with a single and made her way around the bases one by one, before eventually scoring on a single from Kyrsten Brown.

In the third, Ava Scott cleared the bases with a triple to score Makarewicz, Ward and Kennedy Brown. One batter later, Jordyn Hustey brought Ava Scott home on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. In the fourth, Makarewicz drove in Kennedy Brown on a single, which was followed by a double steal in which Ward stole home to make it 7-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Lindenwood clawed its way back into the game with a three-run inning. However, in the sixth, the Skyhawks answered with a triple from Ava Scott that scored Ward and a sacrifice fly from Hustey that scored Ava Scott, to make it 9-3 Skyhawks. The Lions inched closer in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run home run from Kylee Crowder. That would be as close as Lindenwood would get, though, as UT Martin held on for the 9-6 win to split the doubleheader.

Carly Ward was a perfect 4-for-4 in the game with three runs, while Ava Scott was a home run shy of the cycle as she went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple with three runs and four RBIs. Jordyn Hustey drove in two runs in the game, while Makarewicz and Kyrsten brown drove in one each.

Ashtyn Green picked up the win in the game for the Skyhawks, allowing three runs with three strikeouts, while Natalie Kreuziger earned the save by giving up just one hit with two strikeouts in the final frame.