PHOTO GALLERY | BRACKET
WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
#3 Eastern Kentucky 3, #6 Tennessee Tech 0
#2 Eastern Illinois 7, #7 Morehead State 0
#4 SIUE 6, #5 UT Martin 5
#1 Jacksonville State 5, #8 Murray State 0
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
OXFORD, Ala. - Senior right-hander Hayley Flynn logged her second complete game shutout of the season, allowing just one hit as the Eastern Kentucky University softball team upended Tennessee Tech University, 3-0, on the opening day of play at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Choccolocco Park.
Flynn went the distance for the Colonels and struck out seven in the win. The victory marked the 25th win of the season for the senior, tying an EKU program record set by two-time OVC Pitcher of the Year Jonelle Csora in 2002.
Freshman Hannah Clark got the Colonels’ offense going in the second with a single to left, before junior Kelly Wood sent the 1-2 pitch to the gap in right center to score Clark and give the Colonels a 1-0 lead early.
EKU never looked back as Flynn and the EKU defense continued to stymie the Golden Eagle offense in the following innings, before the Colonels added two runs in the home half of the sixth to extend their lead.
The Colonels scored two runs on four hits in the inning, giving themselves a cushion before the final TTU at bat. Sophomore Johnkyria Alston ripped her fifth double of the season to leadoff the bottom of the sixth for EKU, as senior Sarah Fobbs legged out a bunt down the first base line. With two on, freshman Rachel Minogue flied one to left which scored Alston and pushed the Colonels’ lead to 2-0. Junior Krislyn Campos drove in her 27th run of the season with an RBI single up the middle, extending the EKU lead to 3-0.
Flynn retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to help the Colonels to the win.
Tennessee Tech’s (23-32) lone hit of the day came on a single to left field from Callen Griffin.
Wood led the Colonels on 2-for-3 at the plate with one RBI. Senior Kayla Joyce added two hits for the Colonels marking the 16th time this season she has at least two hits in a contest..
EASTERN ILLINOIS 7, MOREHEAD STATE0
OXFORD, Ala. - Eastern Illinois softball downed Morehead State 7-0 in their opening game of the OVC Tournament Wednesday afternoon. With the win the Panthers will face Eastern Kentucky tomorrow at 12:30 pm as the Colonels defeated Tennessee Tech 3-0 in their opening round game.
This win marks the third OVC opening round victory for the Panthers in the last four years.
With the win, Jessica Wireman climbs above .500 on the year improving to 18-17 while throwing six strikeouts and only one walk in her seven innings pitched.
Haylee Beck went 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored and one double. EIU hit three doubles during the game. Jennette Isaac also had herself a day going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored.
The Panthers roared out of the gates to open the game as Kayla Bear ripped a lead-off double down the left field line. Two hit by pitches from Morehead State's Mackenzie Grossmann loaded the bases for EIU with one out as April Markowski stepped into the batter's box. Markowski reached on a fielder's choice but recorded the RBI as Bear came around to score from third to give EIU the 1-0 lead.
EIU was not done as Amber Toenyes hit a two-RBI single through the left side to extend the Panther lead to 3-0. Grossmann once again loaded the bases for EIU as she walked the next two batters. A single through the right side from Isaac scored two more runners before the Eagles pulled Grossmann. Allison Rager came in and closed out the first inning for Morehead with EIU maintaining a 5-0 lead.
The Panthers picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the second inning with another lead-off double to left field, this time from Beck. Beck eventually came around to score as Markowski hit an RBI double to right field to make it 6-0 in favor of the Panthers.
Once again the Panthers opened up an inning with a hit as Isaac slapped a short blooper to left field to open the bottom of the third inning. Isaac went on to steal second base, and later steal third only to cross home plate thanks to a throwing error from the Eagles catcher to extend EIU's lead to 7-0.
That would prove to be all the offense the Panthers would need as the EIU defense closed out the game to earn the 7-0 victory in seven innings. The Panther defense was stellar in the game as they managed to get the first three batters out for the Eagles in all but two innings.
Markowski and Toenyes each finished the game with one hit, one run scored, and two RBIs.
SIUE 6, UT MARITN 5
OXFORD, Ala. - SIUE softball scored six runs in the first two innings Wednesday and held on for a 6-5 victory in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Choccolocco Park.
Ashley Koziol earned the victory with five innings of work and improved to 10-13. Baylee Douglass retired the final six outs for her fifth save of the season.
SIUE, 24-24, will play next at 3 p.m. Thursday against the winner of top-seeded Jacksonville State and eighth-seeded Murray State.
The Cougars now have an 11-9 record this season in one-run games.
SIUE set the tone early with four runs on four hits and a UT Martin error in the first inning. The four runs was more than the Cougars were able to score in a single game in all three contests last weekend at UT Martin to close out the regular season.
SIUE picked up RBIs from Allison Smiley, Amy Hunt and Kelsey Hansen in the first inning. Rachel Keller also scored on an infield error.
The Cougar offense struck for two more runs in the second inning with Talisa Morton starting by reaching on a single to right center. She scored on an RBI single by Tess Eby. LaFave, who reached on a fielder's choice, later scored as she and Eby successfully pulled off the double steal at first and third.
UT Martin, 30-25, was held scoreless for four innings before mounting a comeback. The Skyhawks scored twice in the fifth and added three in the sixth. Aeron Smith's two-RBI double pulled UT Martin to within one, but Douglass was able to hold off the Skyhawks.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 5, MURRAY STATE 0
OXFORD, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team got two big swings and some clutch defense to defeat Murray State 5-0 in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday at Choccolocco Park.
The top-seeded Gamecocks (38-14) held off a pesky Racers (23-30) squad that seemed to mount threats in almost every offensive opportunity. JSU held them off, stranding nine MSU runners, seven in scoring position, to set up a few big swings that pushed JSU into the second round. The Gamecocks will face No. 4 seed SIUE at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Sophomore Leila Chambers delivered the first blast for JSU, a two-run shot to left center that broke a scoreless tie in the fourth. Junior Emily Church had the second, another two-run homer, this one a line drive over the center field wall that made it a 4-0 game.
Sophomore pitcher Whitney Gillespie continued to be solid in the JSU circle, tossing her eighth complete-game shut out in her 15th start against OVC foes this season. The Pelham, Ala., native that was named the league's Pitcher of the Year on Tuesday held the Racers to four hits and improved to 15-1 on the season. She dropped her ERA to a league-best 0.89.
Church and senior Ella Denes, the league's Player of the Year, each had two hits in the win, while Chambers scored two runs.
The Racers threatened to take early control of the game, putting runners at second and third with no outs in the third. JSU's defense stepped up, turning a Brenna Finck chopper to short and a rundown into two outs at the plate.
JSU took advantage of the momentum gained from working out of the jam in the home half of the third. Emily Church led off with a double off the right field wall and set the stage for Chambers' opposite field homer that put a 2-0 Gamecock lead on the board.
The Racers continued to put runners in scoring position and the Gamecocks continued to get out of jams. Church made it a 4-0 game in the sixth on a two-run laser over the wall in center, and an Ella Denes single scored Chambers to put the deciding 5-0 score on the board.
Mason Robinson (18-15) was good early but JSU finally broke through against the MSU ace. She suffered the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Jessica Twaddle led MSU at the plate, going 2-for-2.