The All State

By AARON FORSGREN | Guest Writer

The Lady Govs softball team hosted a three-game series against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at recently renamed Cheryl Holt Field, starting with a doubleheader on Friday, April 22.

Thanks to a walk off home run by sophomore Tiffany Smith, the Lady Govs were able to win the first game of the series in extra innings. However, they could not generate enough offense to win the other two games and lost the series to the Panthers.

Game 1, Lady Govs win 3-2

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In the first game, the Lady Govs (11-35, 6-18 OVC) trailed EIU (34-9, 21-3 OVC) 2-0, going into the bottom of fourth inning.

They tied the score when sophomore pitcher Morgan Brewer smacked a 2 RBI triple into right center.

The two teams went into extra innings tied 2-2.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Smith homered over the left field fence.

Brewer (7-14) earned the win and pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs on four hits with four strikeouts.

EIU’s Amber May (18-4) was tagged with the loss. She held the Lady Govs to three runs on five hits and struck out seven.

Game 2, Lady Govs lose 7-2

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Like the first game of the doubleheader, the Lady Govs fell behind early.

The Panthers scored three runs in the third inning with the help of a two run shot by EIU’s Kiley Holtz.

The Lady Govs did not answer until the bottom of the sixth. By then, they were down 6-0.

After APSU junior catcher Amy Mills was walked, redshirt sophomore outfielder Jessica Ryan sent a home run over the right center fence.

That would be the only score for the Lady Govs.

EIU’s Stephanie Maday held the Lady Govs to only two runs on three hits and struck out six in her seven innings on the mound.

Brewer was tagged with the loss, pitching in relief.

Game 3, Lady Govs lose 11-2

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It only took the Panthers five innings to put the Lady Govs away in the series finale.

With five runs in the third and six in the fifth, EIU left Clarksville with the series win in plenty of time to get ready for Easter Sunday.

The Lady Govs scored only two runs in the game. The first was an RBI single by Mills after Davenport reached on a bunt.
The second was a home run hit by redshirt sophomore Shelby Norton. It was her fifth home run of the season.

Only four Lady Govs produced hits in the game. Mills was the only player with multiple hits

EIU’s Amber May (18-4) got the win with five strikeouts.

She allowed only two runs on five hits. Brewer was tagged for her second loss in the series. She earned five runs on five hits in three innings of work.

The Lady Govs will close the regular season with two more OVC three-game series.

This has been a tough season for the Lady Govs, and they hope to reverse their fortunes soon.

The first will start Saturday, April 30 in Cookeville, Tenn., against Tennessee Tech.

Then, they will finish the regular season at home against SIU Edwardsville Saturday, May 7. TAS

By AARON FORSGREN | Guest Writer

The Lady Govs Softball team traveled to Jacksonville, Ala. for its final out-of-state road trip of the season. They played against the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks in a three-game Ohio Valley conference series beginning Saturday, April 16. Jacksonville St. capitalized on five errors by the Lady Govs to win all three games of the series.

Game 1, Lady Govs lose 5-2

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In the first game, the Lady Govs (10-33, 5-16 OVC) trailed 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Then, JSU’s Abbey Stepp reached on an error by Lady Gov senior second baseman Randal Davenport. Stepp advanced to second on a ground out to first. Next, Hayden Crawford smacked a single into left field that drove in Stepp.

The Lady Govs’ pain continued when Kaycee Crow hit her sixth home run of the season to drive in two more runs for the Gamecocks (31-11, 16-3 OVC) and make the score 5-1. Junior outfielder Catie Cozart hit her third home run of the season to help the Lady Govs cut the Gamecock’s lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth inning. However, this was as close as the Lady Govs would get to the Gamecocks. Tiffany Harbin (19-5) retired six of the final seven Lady Govs to end to the game.

Junior pitcher Morgan Brewer (6-12) was tagged with the loss. She allowed eight runs (two earned) on five hits and struck out four. The Lady Govs produced only three hits in the game. Cozart led the way going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Game 2, Lady Govs lose 5-0

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Davenport and senior infielder Tiffany Smith opened the second game with back-to-back errors. The Gamecocks took full advantage of the opportunity when Amanda Crow sent a three-run shot over the fence.

The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the sixth. Jacksonville St. added two more runs. The first was a home run by Sallie Beth Burch to open the inning. The second came on a single by Krystal Ruth. The Lady Govs had several chances to avoid the shutout. They left eight runners on base, including four in scoring position.

The Lady Govs improved to five hits. Cozart was the only player to get multiple hits in the game. Junior Pitcher Ashley Bolda (3-9) earned her ninth loss. She allowed five runs on seven hits, earning two with two walks.

Game 3, Lady Govs lose 1-0

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The Lady Govs battled to a 0-0 tie until the bottom of the ninth in the final game of the series.

In her second start of the series, Brewer subdued the Gamecocks, allowing only five hits in eight innings of work.

JSU’s Harbin was equally impressive.

She struck out 10 and walked one while keeping the Lady Govs hitless for the game.

The pitching duel ended in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Gamecock’s Hayden Crawford hit a single up the middle. She followed up by stealing second to get in scoring position.

The Lady Govs’ second error of the game cost them the win.

Kaycee Crow reached on a throwing error by first base that allowed Crawford to score and the Gamecocks to earn the sweep. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

The Murray Racers apparently did not care APSU renamed their softball field after APSU’s first softball coach Cheryl Holt.

With a monstrous 11 runs in the third inning, the Racers took the third game of their series against the Lady Govs on Sunday, April 10, and handed them their third Ohio Valley Conference series loss in a row.

Lady Govs lose, 15-3

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It took three Lady Govs pitchers to get out of the second inning of the final game against the Racers.

Before getting three outs, 15 Racers came to the plate and delivered 11 runs on eight hits and four walks, including a grand slam by Racer Jenna Bradley.

Junior pitcher Ashley Bolda (3-8) was tagged with the loss. She allowed three runs, all earned, on two hits.

Freshman pitcher Lauren de Castro was able to keep the Racers to only three more runs on three hits in the last three innings.

While the Racers were swinging for the fences, the Lady Govs produced only three runs on seven hits. Sophomore first baseman Shelby Norton put on a hitting clinic, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI.

She was one of five Lady Govs to produce hits and the only one to get multiple hits. Murray State pitcher Shelby Kosmecki (6-4) held the Lady Govs at bay to earn the win. She allowed just two runs on two hits, walked one and struck out two. The walk led to the Lady Govs first score in the bottom of the third inning.

After junior catcher Amy Mills got on base, she got in scoring position when her teammates De Castro and Norton followed up with back-to-back singles.

Freshman outfielder Caitlyn Anderson got the RBI with a single to the pitcher.

The Lady Govs’ last two runs came in the fourth. Freshman Kayla Davidson drew a walk and later took second on a wild pitch. Then junior center fielder Catie Cozart found the gap in left field for a single that put Davidson on third.

She took second on the throw.

They both came in when Norton made her third hit of the day. Murray responded with three more runs in the fifth and retiring the Lady Govs one-two-three to seal the win.

The Racers’ 14 runs were the second most allowed by the Lady Govs this season. They allowed 16 runs twice this season. The Lady Govs’ next OVC series will be on the road.

They will start a three-game series at Jacksonville Saturday, April 16. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

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Lady Govs’ junior pitcher Ashley Bolda pitched a complete game and grounded the Southeast Missouri Redhawks, 2-1, to avoid an OVC series sweep. Bolda had to withstand a last inning rally by the Redhawks to get her second win of the season.

The Lady Govs were up 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh with one out on the Redhawks when Nicole Troncoso hit a single up the middle.

She advanced to second when her teammate Taylor Cowan also found a gap for a single.

A throwing error scored Troncoso and moved the other two Redhawks into scoring position.

However, Bolda got the next two Redhawk batters to groundout.

She held the Redhawks to five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

The Lady Govs were held to six hits, but did not need more than two runs thanks to Bolda and some solid defense.

Shea Cothren got her third loss of the season in her team high sixteenth start.

She gave up the Lady Govs two runs on four hits in three innings of work.

Freshman Lauren de Castro got things going when she opened the game with a solo home run over the left field fence.

It was her third home run of the season. She was one of six Lady Govs’ with hits in the game.

The Lady Govs’ second run came in the third inning.

Senior Randal Davenport opened the inning by hitting a grounder deep to the shortstop, then diving head-first to beat the throw at first.

She got into scoring position on a pop fly and a walk. Sophomore Shelby Norton scored Davenport with an RBI double to centerfield.

It was the Lady Govs’ third OVC win of the season (8-25, 3-10 OVC).

Southeast Missouri (12-20, 8-6 OVC) won the first two games of the three-game series in a doubleheader Saturday, April 2.

Wednesday, April 6, they play a doubleheader against Kentucky starting at 5 p.m. They will be the first two of seven games they will play in six days.

Kentucky will be the last non-conference opponent the Lady Govs will face in the regular season.

After traveling to Nashville to play Tennessee State Thursday, April 7, the Lady Govs will return home to play three games against their rivals, Murray State starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 9. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

After jumping out to a 3-1 lead, the Lady Govs were able to hold off the Eastern Michigan Eagles to end a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory.

It was the end of a three-game series with the Eagles that had been delayed by inclement weather. It was only the Lady Govs’ sixth win of the season (6-22, 1-7 OVC) and the third of six games they are playing at home to end March.

Sophomore pitcher Morgan Brewer (4-8) earned the win in relief of Lady Govs’ freshman starter Taylor Mills.

In six innings of work, Brewer struck out three, walked one and allowed two earned runs on three hits.

The Lady Govs’ bats were much warmer than the weather. They cranked out nine hits on three different Eagles pitchers and produced five runs.

The Lady Govs plated three of the five runs in the first inning. Junior Centerfielder Catie Cozart started things off by hitting a single to the Eagles’ shortstop.

Senior Third Baseman Tiffany Smith was walked. This set up the Lady Govs with only one out and the bases loaded.

Freshman Kayla Davidson took full advantage of the situation. She cleared the bases with a line-drive triple that got past the Eagles’ right fielder and gave the Lady Govs a 3-1 lead.

Eagles freshman Katie Kostich made the score 3-2 when she hit a home run to open the second inning. However, the Eagles were held scoreless in the third and fourth innings while the Lady Govs added a run in each inning.

In the sixth, Eagles senior shortstop Stacie Sodinski smacked a two-run shot over the left field wall to cut the Lady Govs’ lead to 5-4.

They retired the Eagles’ batters: three-up, three-down, to seal the win.

Mills led the Lady Govs offenses going 3-for-3 with an RBI and scoring two runs. Cozart went 2-for-4 and scored two runs.

The Lady Govs will play six games over six days, five of which will be conference games.

They finish their six-game homestead against Tennessee State Thursday, March 31. Then they will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to play Southeast Missouri Saturday, April 2. TAS

APSU’s scheduled softball game with No. 11 Tennessee, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed due to iinclement weather.

The two teams now will play 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 26, at Lady Govs Field.

APSU’s next action will be an OVC doubleheader against Tennessee State, 5 p.m., Thursday, March 31, at Lady Govs Field. That twinbill originally was scheduled for Wednesday, but a change occurred after the schedule cards were printed.

Free food and red “Let’s Go Peay!” rally towels that were originally planned to be passed out at tonight’s game has been moved to Thursday’s game. Food will be passed out starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, in the parking lot next to the Lady Govs softball field before the game.

Questions call 931-221-7615.