Game 2 Box Score (HTML | PDF)
Game 3 Box Score (HTML | PDF)
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The visiting Tennessee Tech softball team took advantage of six Morehead State errors and 20 MSU runners left on base during the day as the Golden Eagles took the OVC series with a pair of wins Sunday. TTU won the opener 3-1 to finish off a suspended game from Saturday and scored six unearned runs to win the final game 7-3.
Morehead State fell to 25-19 overall and 14-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while TTU moved to 22-27 and 9-11 within the league.
Tennessee Tech pitcher Holly Thomas struck out six Eagle batters and only allowed four hits as she returned today to pick up the win in the opening set. Thomas also pitched the final four and two-thirds innings of the third game to pick up her second save of the year. In the final game, she held the Eagles in check with five more strikeouts while only giving up an unearned run late in the contest.
Morehead State, meanwhile, committed two errors in the opening game and booted the ball four times in the final game as TTU only plated one earned run off starter Alex Gjevre, who tied the MSU career record for starts in the game. Gjevre struck out five but also allowed five walks as she fell to 13-9. Sarah Funston (11-9) took the loss in the 3-1 game, giving up eight hits and three earned runs in the complete game effort.
The Eagles left runners in scoring position in five of the seven at-bats in the final game and ended up with 13 runners left on base after leaving seven on the paths in the first game. TTU had its own problems getting runners across the plate as well as it stranded 18 runners on the day.
Saturday's second game was suspended in the bottom of the second inning so the teams resumed from that point today. TTU broke the stalemate with a pair of runs in the fourth. Callie Schmidt blooped a two-out single that landed at second base, but by time MSU could retrieve the infield single and make a throw to the plate, Kaleigh Gates and Lacie Coquerille had already crossed it for a 2-0 TTU advantage.
MSU trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the sixth inning. Amber Riddle ripped a double into the right field corner, and then Bethany Ellis laced a two-bagger past a diving outfielder to score Riddle.
The one-run lead for Tech was short-lived, however, as Brittany Spalding hit her first home run of the year over the fence in left center to stake her team to the 3-1 lead.
The second game saw Tech jump out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. In the first, Coquerille's sacrifice fly scored Melody Christian with the first run, but that would be Tech's lone earned run. A fielding error at shortstop allowed two more runs to cross the plate.
In the second, Chanelle Spalding hit a two-out double. After a walk, another fielding error in the middle infield allowed Spalding to score to make it 4-0 TTU. Coquerille added an RBI double to left field to score Gates with Tech's fifth run.
The Eagles scored twice in the third to chase TTU starter Maddie Schmissrauter from the circle. Bianca Cardenas ripped a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle to score Riddle, who had singled, and Kayla Ashbrook, who had reached on a walk.
TTU scored two more unearned runs in the fourth. A two-out fly ball to center field by Coquerille was misplayed and allowed Chanelle Spalding and Whitney Cummings to score.
Morehead State had runners at second and third in both the fifth and sixth innings but failed to score. MSU scored its final run in the seventh as Sam Woodall hit an RBI single to score Rebecca Butler after Butler had doubled to the wall in right field leading off the inning. MSU got another single and had runners on first and second, but Thomas coaxed a ground out to end the threat.
Schmissrauter (9-7) was credited with the victory for Tech.
The Eagles stay at home this week to host IUPUI on Wednesday, April 28 at 3 p.m.
