The All State

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Senior Staff Writer

After breaking up a four-game losing streak with a win over Belmont at home Wednesday, March 16.

The Lady Govs looked to extend the winning to their OVC home opener against Eastern Kentucky.

Instead, they lost all three games to the Colonels over the weekend 5-3, 11-2 and 9-4.

Game 1, Lady Govs lose 3-5

APSU 002 000 1 – 3

EKU 004 001 0 – 5

The Lady Govs (4-19, 0-6 OV) gave up four runs to Eastern Kentucky (16-9, 3-3 OVC) in the top of the third inning; but they countered with two runs of their own.

Two walks and a single loaded the bases for the Lady Govs. Junior center fielder Catie Cozart cranked a two RBI single to right field that brought in two and cut the Colonels lead, 4-2.

After Eastern Kentucky added a run in the sixth inning, the Lady Govs tried to rally in the top of the seventh. With one runner on second and two outs, freshman pitcher Lauren de Castro cranked a shot down the left-field line.

De Castro earned the RBI and advanced to third on a Colonel’s fielding error, however, the Lady Govs rally would come up short. Freshman catcher Amy Mills grounded out on the next at bat.

De Castro (0-4) was tagged with the loss. In two innings of work, she allowed four runs on four hits, walked four and struck out two.

Only three Lady Govs generated hits. De Castro led the offense going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Game 2, Lady Govs lose 2-11

APSU 000 20 – 2

EKU 015 50 – 11

In game two, Eastern Kentucky used two five-run innings to claim an 11-2 victory. Pitchers junior Ashley Bolda and sophomore Morgan Brewer struggled from the mound.

Bolda (1-4) was tagged with the loss. In 2.1 innings, she allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits with no strikeouts.

Brewer allowed six runs on seven hits in her 2.2 innings of throwing.

She also walked one and struck out one. The Lady Govs continued to struggle offensively.

Only four different Lady Govs produced five hits.

Cozart led the Lady Govs going two-for-three at the plate.

Game 3, Govs lose 4-9

APSU 700 000 2 – 4

EKU 100 030 3 – 9

A seven-run first inning by the Colonels proved to be too much for the Lady Govs to overcome.

For the second time in the series, Brewer (2-8) saw her pitches get hit early and often. She allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits with no strikeouts.

The first seven Eastern Kentucky batters got on base. Conversely, the Lady Govs generated only one run and four hits in the first four innings.

The Lady Govs’ only offensive explosion came in the fifth inning. With two outs, they scored three runs.

After Cozart singled down the left field line for an RBI, senior third baseman Tiffany Smith found a gap for a two RBI single.

The Lady Govs went scoreless the last two innings and Eastern Kentucky added two more runs in the seventh for the 9-4 win. Cozart led the Lady Govs offense.

She went 3-for-4 with one RBI and scored two runs. De Castro relief pitched for 6.2 innings. She allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out four.

The Lady Govs host the Lady Govs Classic starting Saturday, March 26.

Eastern Michigan and Southern University will participate in the tournament. TAS

By JANNA SIMPKINS | Staff Writer

Spring weather appeared last weekend Feb. 19-20, as the Lady Govs (2-6) hit the field for their annual Austin Peay Spring Classic.

The Lady Govs split on Saturday, Feb. 19, with a 7-0 loss to Cleveland State (5-4), and a 5-4 win over Missouri-Kansas City (6-3).

The Lady Govs’ first game started out slowly and stayed that way until the third inning.

Centerfielder Katie Cozart started things off for the Lady Govs with a single to center field.

She then advanced to second on a wild pitch and was batted around to third by Kristen Whitmire.

Catcher Amy Mills reached on a fielder’s choice and Cozart was thrown out at home.

The Lady Govs left three runners on and scored no runs. In the same inning, Cleveland State scored three runs.

After scoring a run, infielder Dora Toman hit a home run with one runner on, making the score 3-0. Cleveland State took the win 7-0.

In their second game of the day, the Lady Govs’ started off slow again with a couple of runs throughout the first few innings. They reversed in the bottom of the fifth.

With one runner on senior infielder Randall Davenport tripled batting in one run. Senior infielder Tiffany Smith doubled that inning, batting around yet another run.

The Lady Govs scored a total of three runs that inning. They would take the win 5-4.

The Govs hit the diamond again on Sunday, Feb. 23 taking on Ball State (2-2) and Belmont (3-5).

The Lady Govs fell to Ball State 9-2. It was a close game until the sixth inning when Ball State’s freshman infielder Audrey Bickel hit a three-RBI home run to center field.

APSU took on Belmont, beat (9-4) the previous weekend, Feb. 12 and 13, in Columbia at the Belmont/Hampton Inn-Brentwood Spring Tournament.

Belmont came out strong with two runs in the first inning Clarksville native Courtney Elrod roped a double to right field driving in both runs for Belmont.

In the fifth inning for Belmont. Junior infielder Hannah Irwin, a singled up the middle, eventually scoring. Elrod homered to center field driving in two additional runs.

The Lady Govs answered back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Smith homered to left field. Then Whitmire grounded out to second to end the rally, losing to the Bruins 5-4.

The Lady Govs’ venture to Oxford, Miss. for the Ole Miss Red and Blue Classic this weekend.

They return home on Wednesday, March 16, when they take on the Belmont Bruins. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

The Lady Govs softball team finished their fall schedule by winning both games of a doubleheader against Roane State Community College Saturday, Oct. 23, 12-0 and 8-5.

The two wins were part of a three game winning streak that helped the Lady Govs finish the fall run with a 5-3 record.

Randal Davenport is one of only two seniors on the roster who played this fall. She said the team’s success this fall came from a lot of hard work.

“I think the success has come from this team works a lot harder than in years past. We have a lot of team chemistry and everything is meshing well,” Davenport said. “We have just worked hard, committed ourselves this fall and it is starting to show.”

Sophomore pitcher Morgan Brewer picked up the win in the first game against Roane State. She struck out two, walked one and allowed no hits in four innings of work.

It was Brewer’s third win this fall. The Lady Raiders were the last in a long line of victims for Brewer who allowed no runs in 14 total innings of work from the mound all fall.

Offensively, the Lady Govs generated 11 hits, seven for extra bases. Freshman pitcher Lauren de Castro got things started by belting out a double to right-center field.

Junior outfielder Catie Cozart hit an RBI double that brought de Castro in and gave the Lady Govs their first score.

Red-shirt sophomore Jessica Ryan helped the Lady Govs score five more runs in the second inning with a two-run shot over the fence. They would go on to score three more in the third and the final four in the fourth inning.

Davenport was one of eight different Lady Govs with RBIs in the game.

The Lady Raiders may have been experiencing déjà vu when de Castro opened up the second game with another double.

This time she scored on a home run hit by Brewer to give the Lady Govs a 2-0 lead.

The lead jumped to 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning when red-shirt freshman Kristin Whitmire smacked a two run homer. Cozart sent two more home in the same inning with a double.

The final two runs for the Lady Govs came from RBIs hit by Brewer and red-shirt sophomore catcher Shelby Norton.

The Lady Raiders were held at bay by de Castro until the top of the fourth inning. They were able to score three runs before the inning ended.

Freshman pitcher Taylor Mills came in for relief and picked up the win. The Lady Raiders added one run in the sixth and another in the seventh.

Lady Govs junior pitcher got in some work sealing the 8-5 victory.

Senior Tiffany Smith attributed the Lady Govs success to the team getting comfortable under third year head coach Casey Dickson.

“I think everybody is starting to adjust better to coach Dickson’s coaching style. Everybody seems more comfortable with the things that she wants out there,” Smith said.

“It seems like we are all on the same page in the fact that we want what she is wanting and we expect out of ourselves what she expects out of us.” TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

After the Lady Govs finished their fall schedule by defeating Roane State Community College in both games of a doubleheader, head coach Casey Dickson talked about her team.

“I’ve been here three years and this fall marks a huge milestone because of how well we did compared to last year and the year before that.

“We have scored more runs, had less runs scored against us and had less errors given up. It’s a great way to end the season, by looking at the past and what has happened in the present.

“We scored a lot of runs this fall. Our hitting came alive. I believe before today [Saturday, Oct. 23] we were hitting like .301 as a team, so I am really pleased.

“Morgan Brewer who is a sophomore, she had a 0 ERA all fall. We threw her, not all games, but we threw her in a few games as well.

“We have six new freshmen. We have two seniors leading the way. They are doing a great job, Tiffany Smith and Randall Davenport.

“I have a new pitching coach, Kristin Erb, and of course, my assistant coach working on the defense, Jessica Rohn.

“It’s exciting. We hosted a tournament the first of October out at Heritage. We had seven teams including us, and then we had a couple doubleheaders here to finish it off. We are extremely excited to have Taylor Mills. She pitched relief in the first game. We had her relief in the second. She is from Oklahoma where I went to school.

“She’s had a tremendous fall and I think she is maybe even 5-for-6 up to bat for this fall.

We are really excited to have someone as well as Morgan Brewer on the mound that has that courage to come in and shut people down. She is a great one to note. We have a lot of freshman out there. We have three freshmen in the infield. We still haven’t figured out our complete starting lineup. That’s what the fall is all about.”

“We definitely have a tough schedule ahead of us. I believe in playing the best to be the best. Not only is our conference a very competitive conference, but, we have a lot of non-conference games that will be competitive.”

“We will be hosting Tennessee and we will be hosting Kentucky. It is going to be an exciting spring.”

“We still have a long ways to go.

“We need one more pitcher that can really follow in the same footsteps as Morgan.

“A lot of great things are happening. Sometimes we can’t do the big leaps.

“So the baby steps, I will be pleased with, as long as we stay focused and on track.” TAS

By ANTHONY SHINGLER
Assistant Sports Editor

The Lady Govs softball team finished off a four-game home stretch with a three-game weekend series against Morehead State. The Lady Govs (14-28, 6-11 OVC) were competitive but could not get in the win column, losing 1-8, 2-3 on Saturday, April 17, and 1-6 in the series finale Sunday, April 18.

In game one, the Lady Govs ran into a Morehead State buzz-saw in the first two innings as Morehead State pounded out three runs in the first and four runs in the second to lead 7-0.

After settling into quality pitching and defense that held Morehead State scoreless for the next four innings, the lone Lady Gov run came when Jessica Chernak hit a solo homer. It was Chernak’s first of the season.

Morehead State scored one more run in the seventh inning to win 1-8.

In game two, the first three innings turned into a pitching battle with both teams scoreless until Morehead State collected three runs in the fourth inning.

Heading into the fourth inning, Morehead State scored three runs off three hits. Two runs coming off of a two-run triple by Kayla Ashbrook.

After two scoreless innings, the Lady Govs got a rally started when Abby Mabry singled up the middle to start the rally. Mabry was replaced by Tia Johnson. Johnson then moved to third base. Brittany Williams singled up the middle scoring Johnson. Shine Huwe singled through the left side scoring Farley.

With Williams in scoring position, Catie Cozart struck out, thus ending the Lady Govs’ rally.

Behind solid pitching Morehead State struck out Amy Mills, Shelby Norton and Ashley Bolda to end the game.

In the final game of the series, both teams came out with guns blazing and each team scored one run each in the first inning.

The Lady Govs lone run in the game came from Cozart’s sacrifice fly into left field bringing home Chernak. Chernak got on base with a single into left field.

The Lady Govs’ offense went stale from there, collecting only four hits in the remaining six innings of play.

Morehead State would add three runs in the fourth inning highlighted by a two-run home run by Bethany Ellis.

With no offense in sight, Morehead State poured on two more runs in the sixth inning to cap the game off, 1-6.

The Lady Govs will go on the road for a seven game road trip starting Wednesday, April 21, with a double-header against the University of Kentucky.

By ANTHONY SHINGLER
Assistant Sports Editor

The APSU Lady Govs softball team went on the road to face OVC rival Murray State Saturday, April 10. After dropping the first game of the series, 3-2 in eight innings, the Lady Govs were able to get on the winning track with a 9-3 win in the second game and a 4-2 win to close out the series.

In game one of the double header, the Lady Govs (13-25, 5-8 OVC) cranked up the defense as they were able to hold eight runners on base during the first four innings before allowing two runs in the fifth. The Lady Govs scored the first run of the game when Brittany Williams scored on an Amy Mills double to take a 1-0 lead. After scoreless innings, Murray State (13-21, 5-7 OVC) would take the lead 2-1 after a big sixth inning with one Lady Gov error that allowed one of the runs.

In the top of the seventh inning, Shelby Norton was hit by a pitch, but was replaced by Detra Farley as a pinch runner. Tiffany Smith singled to the shortstop bringing home Farley to tie the score. The very next inning Murray State would single up the middle by Ellyn Troup scoring Megan Glosser for the Lady Gov loss.

In game two, the Lady Govs offense turned up the heat in the first inning after a three-run homer from Shine Huwe. It is Huwe’s fifth homer of the season. Murray State responded with three runs of their own on a homer from Jenna Bradley to cut the Lady Gov lead to 4-3. Huwe lent a helping hand again on an RBI ground-out scoring Randal Davenport, who reached base after being walked.

The third inning proved to be an inning that helped the Lady Govs pack their lead to 6-3 after Norton scored on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Cole. The Lady Govs’ bats cooled off for three innings before being reignited in the seventh inning. Norton’s three-run home run proved to be the nail in the coffin to give the Lady Govs the win in the seventh inning.

In the final game of the series, the Lady Govs used solid defense and a two-run third and fourth inning to take the series. The two runs in the third came off a double from Catie Cozart, bringing home Williams and Jessica Chernak. While the two runs in the fourth inning came from a passed ball that allowed Farley to come home, the last run for the Lady Govs came from a single from Williams that allowed Cole to score for a 4-0 lead.

Murray State threatened to get on the board in the fifth inning but the Lady Govs defense stranded three Murray State base runners. In the seventh inning Murray State rallied to get two runs on the board, but Mattocks flied out to right field to end the game with two runners left on base.

“We’re very excited to come away with the win today and take the series,” APSU coach Casey Dickson said.

“We liked the motivation we had in the dugout where we had written ‘what are we playing for’ and it said the OVC tournament.”

APSU returns home this week to host Tennessee State and Morehead State in four OVC contests at Lady Govs Field, beginning with TSU for one game on Wednesday, April 14, at 6 p.m. and the Lady Eagles for a three-game series this Saturday, April 17.