PHOTO GALLERY
FRIDAY'S SCORES
#1 Jacksonville State 3, #4 SIUE 2
#8 Murray State 2, #5 UT Martin 0
#4 SIUE 1, #7 Morehead State 0
#2 Eastern Illinois 10, #8 Murray State 5
#1 Jacksonville State 12, #3 Eastern Kentucky 0
#4 SIUE 6, #2 Eastern Illinois 3
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, SIUE 2
OXFORD, Ala. - Jacksonville State needed a dramatic finish and it got one at Choccolocco Park on Friday morning in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
A two-run homer from Jamie McGuire in the sixth tied the game with SIU-Edwardsville and a game-ending triple from Whitney Gillespie advanced the top-seeded Gamecocks (39-14) in the winner's bracket. They will face No. 3 seed Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m. on Friday to see who advances to the championship game without a loss in the double-elimination event.
While McGuire and Gillespie provided the fireworks at the plate, junior Taylor West was the hero in the circle. The Second-Team All-OVC pick from nearby Anniston came on in relief of Gillespie in the fifth and held the fourth-seeded Cougars hitless through four shutout innings.
The Gamecocks lived dangerously and it cost them in the top of the fourth. A leadoff single by Kelsey Hansen and a fielding error put runners at second and third with no outs, and the Cougars used a grounder and a squeeze bunt to take a 2-0 lead.
JSU struggled to get good swings off of SIUE starter Baylee Douglass until the bottom of the sixth. Anna Chisolm roped a double off the center field wall to start the inning and McGuire lined an 0-2 pitch over the wall in center to tie the game.
West entered the game in the fifth and held the Cougars in check to give her offense a chance to win it. A pair of two-out walks in the bottom of the seventh put the potential winning run in scoring position, but Chisolm missed on her cut at Ashley Koziol's 3-2 pitch to send the game into extra innings.
West worked around a leadoff hit by pitch in the eighth and set the stage for the dramatic finish.
MURRAY STATE 2, UT MARTIN 0
OXFORD, Ala. - Shelbey Miller became the school’s all-time hits leader, as the Murray State softball team stayed alive at the 2016 OVC Softball Tournament by beating UT Martin, 2-0, Friday at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
Murray State got on the board first in the second when a UT Martin outfielder dropped a ball in the outfield, allowing Maddy Feeney to score from first base for the 1-0 lead. The Racers increased their lead in the third on a RBI-fielder’s choice from Taylor Odom that allowed Shelbey Miller, who led off the inning with a single, to cross the plate and extend the lead to 2-0.
With her second hit of the game in the third, Miller became the school’s all-time career hits leader with 228. That number surpasses the previous record of 227 set by former teammate Mo Ramsey in 2014.
While the offense got the runs, the Murray State defense once again proved why it was one of the best in the nation, by nullifying 10 hits on the day by UT Martin. The Racers turned two double plays in the contest and stranded nine runners to help Mason Robinson notch her sixth complete game shutout of the season. Robinson allowed no runs on 10 hits with no walks and a strikeout over a full seven innings.
Miller led MSU in the game at 2-for-4, while Brenna Finck, Jessica Twaddle, Cayla Levins and Jocelynn Rodgers had one hit each.
Murray State will return to Choccolocco Park for their second of three possible games on Friday to take on the second seed, Eastern Illinois, at approximately 3:45 p.m.
SIUE 1, MOREHEAD STATE 0
OXFORD, Ala. - Baylee Douglass tossed a three-hit shutout as SIUE softball advanced at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Choccolocco Park.
SIUE defeated Morehead State 1-0 and will await the winner of the Eastern Illinois-Murray State game that is currently underway. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. The SIUE game will follow the Eastern Kentucky-Jacksonville State matchup.
SIUE, 25-25, benefitted from two double plays on defense while Douglass used just 89 pitches to dispatch Morehead State, which ended its season with a 26-27 record. Douglass improved to 15-11 with her sixth shutout of the season.
Allison Rager took the loss for Morehead State, allowing six hits. She finished the season 14-7.
SIUE scored the game's only run in the second inning. Allison Smiley was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a bunt sacrifice by Amy Hunt. After Morehead State picked up an out, Haley Adrian singled home Smiley with a base hit to center field.
Jordan LaFave took the team lead in hits for the season after tallying two against the Eagles. Alyssa Heren, who made a catch against the fence in the top of the seventh, joined Adrian, Tess Eby and Talisa Morton with hits.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 10, MURRAY STATE 5
OXFORD, Ala. - Murray State softball’s season came to a close Friday with a 10-5 loss to Eastern Illinois at the 2016 OVC Softball Championship at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
Eastern Illinois wasted little time in scoring, as Kylie Bennett doubled with a runner on to give her team the early advantage. Jennette Isaac then made it 2-0 in the second on a single to left field that scored Andrea Roberts, who singled earlier in the inning.
Murray State had a bases loaded opportunity in the bottom of the fourth with just one out, but an unassisted double play by EIU’s Haylee Beck ended the inning with no Racers crossing the plate. In the top of the fifth, things got away from Murray State as the Panthers pounded out five hits and took advantage of two MSU errors to score six runs and take an 8-0 lead.
However, in the bottom of the stanza, Leah Kesel led off the inning with walk and was followed by a single from Shelbey Miller. The duo would score in the next at bat on a throwing error by EIU that allowed Brenna Finck to go all the way to third. Finck then scored on the next play thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Jessica Twaddle and a catcher’s interference call on the Panthers.
The Panthers added two more runs in the top of the seventh on a home run by Amber Toenyes to push the lead to 10-3. Murray State, however, did not lay down in the bottom of the seventh, as Finck led off the inning by reaching third on error. She then came home in the next at bat on Twaddle’s fourth home run of the season that cut the lead to 10-5. Despite the rally attempt, the Racers came up short and ended their season with the 10-5 loss.
Murray State once again had trouble scoring runners and stranded a total of nine in the game. Timely hits were also once again an issue for the Racers as they were just 4-for-17 with runners on, compared to 7-for-19 by the Panthers.
Twaddle led the team in the game by going 1-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs, while Finck with 0-for-2 with a walk and two runs. Kesel finished the game at 1-for-1 with a run, a double and two walks, while Taylor Odom walking twice
Mason Robinson finished the season at 19-16 by allowing seven runs on eight hits with one strikeout. Her season ERA of 1.99 will go down as the best single-season performance by a Racer pitcher and is the first sub-2.00 season ERA in program history.
With the loss, Murray State ends the season with an overall record of 24-31.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 12, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
OXFORD, Ala. - Jacksonville State used a 12-run fifth inning to rout Eastern Kentucky and move into Saturday's Championship Game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Choccolocco Park.
In what looked to be a pitchers duel between two first team All-OVC aces, the top-seeded Gamecocks (40-14) broke it open in the big inning and rolled into the title game of the double elimination tournament without a blemish on their record. The third-seeded Colonels (37-16) fall into the loser's bracket and will play at 10 a.m. for the chance to face JSU in the title game.
The win secured the 10th 40-win season in JSU history and extended the Gamecocks' current win streak to a school-record 20 games. JSU has now won 31 of its last 32 games and is 29-0 against OVC opposition in 2016.
EKU's Hayley Flynn coasted through the first four innings, striking out 10 Gamecock batters before the JSU bats woke up. By the time the dust settled on the fifth inning, JSU had plated 12 runs on 10 hits and three Colonel errors to break it open.
JSU's ace, Whitney Gillespie, didn't let up. She improved to 16-1 and dropped her OVC-leading earned run average to 0.89 by holding EKU scoreless on three hits through five frames. Flynn (26-9) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in four innings. Alex Sallberg tossed an inning of relief and allowed seven runs, just one earned, on five hits.
Eight Gamecocks recorded at least one hit in the win, with Jordan Bullock, Stephanie Lewis, Taylor Sloan and Gillespie each notching two apiece. Lewis got the rally started with a two-run double and Sloan delivered a three-run double in the inning for three of her team-high four RBI.
SIUE 6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
OXFORD, Ala. - It was a rollercoaster day for Eastern Illinois softball as the Panthers opened Friday's tournament play with a wild 10-5 win over Murray State before falling to SIU Edwardsville 6-3 in their final game of the season.
The Panthers finished their 2016 season with a 25-28 record. Jessica Wireman had a long day on the mound earning both the win and the loss after pitching eight strikeouts over 10 innings in the two games.
Kylie Bennett, April Markowski, Mady Poulter, and Kayla Bear all finished the day with three hits a piece.
Katie Watson led the team with three runs, while Amber Toenyes recorded three RBIs throughout the two games.
The Panthers started their day off quickly in the top of the first inning against Murray State. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Watson came all the way around to score thanks to a two-out double from Bennett to left field.
EIU added to their 1-0 lead in the following inning as Andrea Roberts hit an infield single to second base. Roberts eventually advanced to second base with two outs and Jennette Isaac at the plate. Isaac smacked a single out to left field allowing Roberts to score and give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Both teams came alive in the fifth inning as the Racers and the Panthers combined for nine runs.
EIU opened the inning with back-to-back singles from Poulter and Isaac. Bear laid down a spectacular bunt single on the next at-bat as a throwing error from Murray State's first baseman allowed her to reach second and Poulter to score to make it 3-0.
Following Bear's lead, Haylee Beck laid down a bunt of her own reaching on the fielder's choice as Isaac scored from third to extend the Panther lead to 4-0. Watson then stepped up to the plate hitting a ground ball to the shortstop as Bear beat the throw to home plate making it 5-0 with still no outs in the inning.
Bennett recorded her second RBI of the day with a single to right field scoring Beck from third and forcing the Racers to bring in Haven Campbell to pitch. The pitching change did not phase Markowski as she stepped up and ripped a double to right center field bringing Watson around from second base to make it 7-0.
Markowski added the final run of the inning herself successfully stealing third base and scoring on a throwing error from the Racer's catcher as the inning eventually came to a close with EIU in front 8-0.
The Racers fought back in the bottom of the fifth to fend off the run-rule victory with three unearned runs. After opening the inning with a walk and a single to left center field, Murray State's Brenna Finck laid down a sacrifice bunt making it to third base on a throwing error. The error cleared the bases for the Racers to make it 8-2. Murray State added one more on the next at-bat as Finck scored from third base on a sacrifice bunt making it 8-3 headed into the sixth inning.
Each team earned two-run home runs in the seventh inning as Toenyes hit her second home run of the tournament to make it 10-3 in the top of the seventh. Murray State's Jessica Twaddle followed suit with a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning to earn the final score of 10-5. Michelle Rogers came in to replace Wireman following the home run to close out the game for EIU.
Wireman finished the game with seven strikeouts and only one earned run in her six innings pitched.
Bear, Bennett, Markowski, Poulter, and Isaac all finished with two hits in the game with Bennett recording two RBIs while Markowski earned two runs scored. Toenyes recorded two RBIs as well with her home run while also scoring one run.
With the win the Panthers earned the right to continue in the loser's bracket of the tournament taking on SIU Edwardsville at 8:40 pm Friday evening.
The Cougars took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning with a lead-off double from SIUE's Alyssa Heren followed by a walk. Rachel Keller cleared the bases with a double to right center field advancing to third on the throw and putting SIUE in front 2-0. Edwardsville added one more run before the inning came to a close as Keller crossed home plate on a sacrifice bunt to make it 3-0.
EIU finally got on the board in the fourth inning as Watson cranked her second home run of the season over the left center field wall to make it 3-1. Bennett followed up the home run with a single to left center field before being replaced by Taylor Monahan pinch running. Markowski advanced Monahan to third base with a double to deep center field on the next at-bat. Monahan would score from third during a ground-out to pull EIU within one 3-2.
SIUE shot back in the bottom of the inning as Heren hit an RBI single to extend the Cougar lead to 4-2. After the next batter was walked, the Cougars Tess Eby hit a bases clearing double to make it 6-2 in favor of SIUE.
The Panthers pulled one back in the top of the fifth as Poulter singled to open the inning. Poulter eventually advanced to third base, coming home to score thanks to a sacrifice fly from Beck to cut the Cougar lead in half 6-3.