Ohio Valley Conference

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Softball struck early with runs in each of the first three innings on Friday afternoon at USI Softball Field to claim a 6-2 victory in the series finale over Morehead State University.
 
USI Softball improved to 11-21 overall and 8-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference with Friday's win, snapping a six-game skid. Morehead State dropped to 4-25 on the season with a 3-12 record in conference play.
 
The Screaming Eagles got the offense going early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning off a pair of RBI singles from freshman infielder Jadyn Tinsley and sophomore designated player Grace Huffman. USI tacked on another run in the second inning to grab a 3-0 advantage.
 
USI doubled its lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the third inning. The first run of the frame came on a bases-loaded walk to sophomore third baseman Jordan Mackey. In the next two at-bats, USI's slap-hitting outfielders, freshman Katelyn Marx and senior Caroline Stapleton, each put the ball in play and drove in a run to add insurance to the Screaming Eagles' lead.
 
Stapleton finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Marx also posted two hits and had an RBI. Tinsley led the USI offense with three hits and notched an RBI. USI totaled eight hits in the game.
 
Meanwhile, sophomore pitcher Kylie Witthaus was in a groove in the circle following the early run support from the offense. Witthaus kept Morehead State hitless until the fifth inning.
 
Despite Morehead State scratching across a run in the fifth and sixth innings, Witthaus finished off her second-straight complete game to improve to 3-6 on the season. The left-hander struck out three and allowed only four hits.
 
Morehead State used three pitchers in the contest. Starting pitcher Rylie Burney (0-6) was charged with the loss after surrendering three runs in two innings of work.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, SIUE 1  (6)
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7, SIUE 4
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southeast Missouri (12-20, 8-5) pounded out 21 hits and had two big home runs to key a 9-1, 7-4, doubleheader sweep of SIU Edwardsville (14-22, 7-7) Friday at Cougar Field.
 
SEMO, which extended its winning streak to six games, gave Head Coach Mark Redburn his fifth career series win against SIUE.
 
In game one, Gracie Luna's three-run home run gave SEMO an immediate jolt in the top of the first inning.
 
With a run already in on an RBI-single by Aubrie Shore, Luna drilled a 1-2 pitch deep over the left field wall scoring Madison Winkler and Shore with two outs to push the Redhawks lead to 4-0.
 
SEMO added three more runs in the fourth and another two in the sixth.
 
Lily Delmain doubled down the left field line to knock in Addy Martinie and Sydney Miles before Kamden Hutton brought home Delmain on a single to center in the top of the fourth.
 
Brittany Affolter and Winkler then delivered RBI-hits to extend the Redhawks lead to 9-0 in the sixth.
 
SIUE avoided the shutout with its only run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Willow Van Haren (3-6) was outstanding in the circle for the Redhawks.
 
Van Haren gave up only two hits and struck out four in six innings, her fourth complete game of the season. She retired the first eight hitters she faced and pitched 1-2-3 innings in the first, second and fourth.
 
Avery Arwood (3-5) suffered the loss. SEMO chased Arwood after a quick two-thirds of an inning. Arwood allowed four runs on two hits and walked three in that stretch.
 
SEMO outhit SIUE, 12-2, with Hutton reaching base four times on three walks and a hit. 
 
Shore went 3-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI, while Delmain finished at 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI. Six others, including Affolter, Winkler, Lilly Blagoue, Luna, Miles and Martinie had a hit.
 
Shore singled home Hutton for the first run and Affolter later scored with the help of an error. Miles lifted a sacrifice fly to plate pinch runner Kaylyn Yamnitz giving the Redhawks a 3-0 advantage.
 
After SIUE rallied for four runs to get within a run (5-4) in the bottom of the sixth inning, Affolter slugged a huge two-run home run over the center field wall to nail down the Redhawks victory in the nightcap.
 
Hutton led off the seventh with a single to right before scoring on Affolter's ensuing home run, the second of her career.
 
SEMO again jumped out front early scoring three runs during its first at-bat of the contest.
 
Hutton then scored on a wild pitch and Shore drove in Affolter on a single to center stretching the Redhawks lead to 5-0 in the second inning.
 
The Cougars left five runners on base in the final two innings.
 
Freshman Summer Branch (2-1) picked up the win. Branch worked five innings allowing three runs on five hits. She also struck out one and walked three.
 
Maddie Carney pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to earn her second save of the season.
 
Mia Volpert (5-8) took the loss. Volpert lasted just 1.1 innings where she gave up five runs on four hits and walked two.
 
Both teams had nine hits and SIUE committed four errors.
 
Shore went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Affolter was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. Hutton, who reached base in seven of her eight plate appearances for the doubleheader, went 2-for-3 with three runs and a walk.

LINDENWOOD 11, TENNESSEE STATE 4  (8)
NASHVILLE - The Lindenwood Softball team (19-18, 8-7 OVC) extended their winning streak to seven games on Friday afternoon with an 11-4 win in extra innings. The Lions erupted for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning to complete their second consecutive OVC series sweep and improved to 8-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. Izzy Wilcox, Sadie Sexauer, and Emily Geary all recorded two RBI in the contest to lead the Lions, while Tori Hatton collected her fourth game this season in which she has had three hits in a single contest. 

The first runs of the game happened in the top of the third when Geary roped a two-run single to centerfield that scored Hatton and Anna Sanders to put Lindenwood ahead 2-0. The Lions added on to their lead later in the inning behind a Sexauer RBI groundout to make it 3-0 after 2.5 innings played. Samantha Roulanaitis shut the Tiger offense down for the first four innings of the contest as she allowed three hits and struck out six, which tied her career-high up to that point in the game. TSU's offense was able to get through to Roulanaitis in the fifth however as the Tigers put up four runs in the bottom of the fifth and took a 4-3 lead with two innings to go in the game. 

In the following inning, Sanders tied the game at four with a one-out RBI groundout after Madisen Noll had reached base on an error by the TSU left fielder the previous at bat and was able to score on the groundout to make it 4-4. Ryleigh Owens replaced Roulanaitis in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and was able to keep Tennessee State off the scoreboard by escaping a bases loaded jam to send the game into the seventh inning still tied at four. After both teams failed to bring in a run in the seventh, the game headed to extra innings where Lindenwood's offense came to life and scored seven runs on four hits. The seven-run rally started with Tori Hatton reaching base on an error by the TSU pitcher and Jolie McMinn following Hatton with an RBI bunt single to put the Lions ahead 6-4. Later in the inning, Sexauer delivered an RBI single to right field that brought in Justine Davidson who pinch ran for McMinn, and the rally was capped off by a two-run RBI double down the right field line off the bat of Izzy Wilcox to make it an 11-4 game. Owens would slam the door shut on the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth and improved her record to 6-5 on the season as she was able to get two groundouts and a strikeout to finish off the game for Lindenwood.

UT MARTIN 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4  (9)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, UT MARTIN 1  (5)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois softball had its Ohio Valley Conference unbeaten streak snapped in extra innings in game one Friday against UT Martin before splitting the doubleheader with a run-rule victory in the second game.  UT Martin won the opener 5-4 in nine innings before EIU bounced back for a 9-1 win in five innings in the nightcap.  EIU is now 21-18 overall, 13-1 in the OVC.  UTM is 22-16 overall, 10-4 in the OVC.
 
Kyla Harley drove home what proved to be the winning run for UT Martin in the top of the ninth with an infield ground out scoring Karena Recrosio as the Skyhawks edged Eastern Illinois, 5-4.
 
Harley opened the Skyhawks scoring in the first with an RBI as she had two hits in the game, one of five Skyhawks with multiple hits in the contest.
 
The UTM lead grew to 4-0 in the third with a two-run single by Avary Makarewicz followed by an infield RBI single by Gia Recrosio.  Makarewicz had two hits while Karena Recrosio led UTM with three.
 
The Panthers cut into the lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple by Alisha Frederick.  In the fourth EIU tied the game at 4-4 with a Maddux Marshall RBI single and two-run single by Lizzie Stiverson.  Stiverson, Frederick and Marshall all had two hits for EIU.
 
Payton Harris (2-3) entered in relief to end the EIU rally in the fourth and held the Panthers scoreless the remainder of the game scattering seven hits over 5.1 innings of work.
 
Bryanna French (7-5) was the hard luck loser pitching six innings before allowing the unearned run in the ninth.  Mo Hance led EIU's offense with four hits. 
 
Abbi Hatton had a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning to help Eastern Illinois walk off a 9-1 win over UT Martin in the second game of the doubleheader.
 
Karlie McKenzie (5-8) was solid in the circle in the start for EIU allowing just a single by Gia Recrosio in the third inning as the lone Skyhawks hit in the game.  Recrosio came around to score on a fielders choice RBI by her sister Karena Recrosio.
 
The Panthers provided McKenzie all the offense she would need starting with three runs in the second on RBI singles by Brooklyn Groppel, Chloe Wamboldt and Lizzie Stiverson.  Wamboldt had three hits for EIU as the Panthers pounded out 14 hits in the win.
 
In the third Sophia Olman added to the scoring with a two-run homer, part of her two-hit day.  Stiverson, Hatton and Marybeth Dyson rounded out the Panthers with two hits in the contest.
 
Wamboldt and Stiverson drove in the first two runs of the clinching fifth inning before Hatton's two run double finished off the game.
 
Sami Scholtz (6-4) took the loss for the Skyhawks as they used four pitchers in the game.