MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State and Austin Peay weathered bitterly cold weather and even sleet that fell throughout the early part of the Ohio Valley Conference softball matchup Saturday at University Field with the Govs prevailing in the end 5-2.
Austin Peay (14-14/1-3) got all of its scoring in the third and fourth innings as it defeated Morehead State (1-19/0-4) for the 10th consecutive time. The win also snapped a five-game losing skid for APSU.
The three-run, three-hit third inning proved to be the difference. A fourth inning two-run homer by senior third baseman Lexi Osowski cemented the final score.
MSU did not go down without a fight. The Eagles scored the contest's first run and added a second after savvy baserunning by junior shortstop
Kirya Kingery with two outs in the sixth.
"The girls did a great job competing with Austin Peay," said MSU coach
Samantha Jones.
Morehead State was hurt by some miscues on the base paths. Both sides also missed out on scoring chances with each leaving nine runners on base.
The visitors opened the game with a pair of hits and a walk with one out in the top of the first, but infield grounders led to two force outs at home plate to end the threat. The Eagles did not have that problem in their half of the inning as they were able to push a run across the plate. Freshman left fielder
Ieesha Christian led off with a walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a ground out. After a second out, senior catcher
Peyton Slater singled to right-center field to plate Christian and give the hosts the early edge.
Neither team was able to muster a challenge in the second, although both teams left a runner on base.
Osowski was hit by a pitch in the top of the third to set up the Govs' scoring. Back-to-back doubles by graduate student shortstop Brooke Pfefferle and freshman designated player Kylie Campbell accounted for the first two runs. Junior left fielder Kendyl Weinzapfel's infield single scored Campbell to push the visitors in front 3-1.
A single by junior right fielder
Madeline Gailor and consecutive walks by senior second baseman
Alexis Strother and Slater loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third, but the Eagles were unable to send anyone home.
APSU sophomore right fielder Megan Hodum hit a two-out single up the middle in the fourth and Osowski followed with a homer over the center-field fence to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Eagles got runners on base in both the fourth and fifth, but could not add to their run total. Austin Peay also had multiple Govs on base in the fifth and sixth, but also did not score.
Morehead State started off both the fifth and sixth with a pair of singles. In the fifth, it was Gailor and Strother, and in the sixth, Kingery and junior first baseman
Taylor Rhea came through. Gailor eventually was thrown out at home plate to end the fifth-inning threat. But in the sixth, Kingery broke for home after senior third baseman
Peyton Rose was out on a ground ball to the pitcher which gave the Eagles their second run. Rhea made it around to third, but the inning ended before she could get home.
After reaching base in every half inning through the sixth, both teams went down in order in the seventh, ending the game.
Austin Peay finished with 12 hits, with five players accounting for all 12, and was able to cluster many of them together. Pfefferle and Hodum led the way each going 3-for-4. Osowski, Campbell and Weinzapfel added two hits apiece. Osowski also added two RBI, scored twice and walked once.
The Eagles had six hits but fewer big innings. Gailor finished with two singles for her second multi-hit game this spring and also stole a base. Strother, Slater, Kingery and Rhea each contributed a single. Rose and Slater picked up RBI, and Christian and Kingery each scored.
Senior Harley Mullins went the distance in the circle to earn the win and improve to 3-2. She allowed two earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and four walks.
Sophomore
Lennon Spicer (1-9) also threw a complete game. Four of her runs were earned. She also tallied five strikeouts and walked two.
The series concludes on Sunday with a doubleheader. Game one starts at 2 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+. Click the following links to watch the action live:
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/17d54881-1950-41ad-9eac-21d23fc1b8cc (Game 1) and
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/45ed5d15-a38d-429a-8b3a-87be97b06f34 (Game 2).
