Golden Eagles remain unscathed in OVC, sweep Lady Govs with 5-2 Sunday win
COOKEVLLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech had lots of base runners
Sunday, and this time the Golden Eagle softball team got a couple
of clutch hits with the bases loaded on their way to a 5-2 victory
over Austin Peay to sweep the three-game Ohio Valley Conference
series from the Lady Govs at the Tech Softball Field.
With the win, the Golden Eagles (16-15) remained the only
undefeated team in the league and in first place with a 5-0 OVC
record. Austin Peay’s record fell to 6-22 overall and 0-5 in
the OVC.
The clutch hits came from sophomores Katie Betry and Lacie
Coquerille in the early innings, and supported a solid combined
pitching effort from freshman Holly Thomas and sophomore Maddie
Schmissrauter.
Thomas (8-7) earned the win after throwing the first five innings,
allowing five hits and three walks while striking out six.
Schmissrauter claimed her first save of the year, blanking APSU
through the final two innings. She yielded one hit and one walk,
and struck out three.
Just as they did Saturday in losing two close games, the Lady Govs
made Tech work for the victory. The Lady Govs showed patience at
the plate and had base runners in every inning but the first to
keep the pressure on Thomas and Schmissratuer.
Sophomore Katie Betry delivered a bases loaded, line shot into the
right field corner for a two-run double in the first inning, giving
the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead. It came after Coquerille and Whitney
Cummings had singled, and Thomas drew a four-pitch walk as the Lady
Govs pitched carefully to the slugging Tech freshman.
The Golden Eagles also loaded the bases with two outs in the second
inning on three hits, but APSU starter Abby Mabry got out of that
jam with a grounder for the third out.
Austin Peay knotted the game with two runs in the third. Randal
Davenport singled past third base with one out for the Lady
Govs’ first hit of the contest. With two outs, Brittany
Williams drove a double to the left field fence, scoring Davenport
from second and making it a 2-1 game. The next hitter, Catie
Cozart, singled through the right side and the ball was mishandled
in right field, allowing Williams to score the tying run.
In Tech’s third inning, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases
with a walk to Kimmie White and two infield errors. With two outs,
Coquerille ripped a single to center to score two runs for the 4-2
lead.
Tech added a run in the sixth as Coquerille walked and Whitney
Cummings doubled to the fence in right field to make it 5-2.
Cummings went 3-for-4 with one RBI and Coquerille was 2-for-3 with
two RBI. Six different players had one hit each for the Lady Govs.
Mabry (2-5) took the loss, pitching three innings and allowing two
earned runs on seven hits. She walked two and struck out three.
Ashley Bolda pitched the final three innings, allowing one run on
one hit and one walk, and striking out three.
The next action for the Golden Eagles comes Tuesday with a game at
Middle Tennessee State, beginning at 4 p.m. Tech’s next OVC
series is on the road next weekend at Southeast Missouri.
Tech’s next home game is on Tuesday, March 31 with a single
game against Texas-El Paso to open a 10-game homestand.
