Eastern Kentucky defeats Tech 3-0 in game one of OVC Tournament
The Tennessee Tech softball team (23-32, 14-13 OVC) fell to Eastern Kentucky (36-15, 17-8 OVC) in game one of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday. The Colonels defeated the Golden Eagles 3-0 in the one-hit shutout, notching one run in the second and two in the sixth.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 3 | 9 | 2 |
By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
OXFORD, Ala.—The Tennessee Tech softball team (23-32, 14-13 OVC) fell to Eastern Kentucky (36-15, 17-8 OVC) in game one of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday. The Colonels defeated the Golden Eagles 3-0 in the one-hit shutout, notching one run in the second and two in the sixth.
After a 1-2-3 Golden Eagle at-bat to open the game, junior southpaw Danielle Liberatore took to the circle to allow just one hit, while fanning two at the plate to hold the game scoreless after one inning.
Leading off the second inning was junior catcher Alyssa Richards who took her 25th walk of the season. Amity Brown quickly replaced Richards at first, as Gabby LaSala stepped up to the dish. LaSala popped up to the pitcher to put one down and one on for the Golden Eagles. With Bayli Cruse now at the plate, a wild pitch allowed junior Brown to advance to second, before EKU pitcher Hayley Flynn retired Cruse at the plate. With two down and one runner on second, sophomore Callen Griffin stepped into the batter's box, however, Flynn quickly struck out Griffin and Tech headed back to the field with Liberatore again in the circle in the middle of the second.
A fly out to center field and a catch in foul territory by Golden Eagle third baseman Cortney Fry kicked things off for Tech in the bottom of the second inning. Hannah Clark then notched the Colonels' second hit of the game with a short shot to left field. Kelly Wood then stepped up to the dish for Eastern Kentucky and fired an RBI-double to the center field warning track to give the Colonels the early 1-0 edge. Amber Murray now stepped into the box with one on and two down, but a ground out to second closed out the second inning for the Golden Eagles.
Tech looked to respond in the top of the third, with Cortney Fry opening the inning reaching on an EKU error. Freshman Jessie Lowery then came to the plate and laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Fry to second. However, the Golden Eagles popped up the next two at-bats and swiftly returned to the field.
A 4-3 play opened up the EKU at-bats in the bottom of the third, however, Paige Murphy then came up the dish and doubled down the left field line to put another Colonel runner in scoring position. A fly out to center then put the Golden Eagles ahead with two down and one on, and a ground out to the Tech's third baseman closed out the third inning.
After an Olivia Bennett line out to the second baseman, Richards again came to the box and tallied her 26th walk on the year. With one on and one down, freshman LaSala grounded out into a double play to end the top of the fourth inning and bring Eastern Kentucky back up to bat. Another 4-3 play opened up the Eastern Kentucky at-bats in the bottom of the fourth. The Colonel's Kayla Campos quickly followed suit, grounding out to Tech's shortstop, bringing Hannah Clark to the dish with two down. A pop-up to Tech's catcher then sealed the 1-2-3 frame for the Golden Eagles, as Tech looked to get its bats going in the top of the fifth down 1-0.
After Cruse led off the top of the fifth with a fly out to center, Griffin notched the Golden Eagles' first hit of the game with a single to left field. However, a Fry pop-up followed by a Lowery punch-out sent Tech back to the field in the bottom of the fifth. With Liberatore still in the circle for Tech, the Peotone, Ill. native quickly retired EKU's Wood at the dish to notch the Golden Eagles' first out of the inning. The Colonel's Amber Murray then stepped into the box and grounded out to Gabby Perez at second for the second out of the frame. After a diving stop by Perez by the second base bag, EKU's Joyce beat out the throw to first and tallied the Colonel's fifth hit of the game to put one on with two down and bring Murphy up the plate. Murphy then popped up a ball in foul territory to Fry to silence the Colonels and bring the Golden Eagles back up to bat in the top of the sixth, EKU still leading 1-0.
The Colonels continued to hold strong into the top of the sixth, with another 1-2-3 Tech at-bat. Liberatore returned to the circle in the bottom of the sixth hoping to fend off Eastern Kentucky with the 1-0 lead, however, Johnkyria Alston opened up the inning with a double to the center field wall. A successful squeeze bunt by Sarah Fobbs then put runners at the corners with no outs for the Colonels. Minogue now stepped up to the dish, as Fobbs successfully stole second. Minogue then put up the sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Alston and extend the EKU lead to 2-0. With one down and one on third, Campos tacked on a base hit to center field furthering the Colonel lead to 3-0. A pop-up to Perez at second notched the second out the inning, to bring Wood to the plate. Wood hit a single through the left side and now Murray stepped into the box with two down and two on, however, Liberatore got the strike out and brought the Golden Eagles back up to bat in the top of the seventh trailing 3-0. Eastern Kentucky then sealed a game one victory with a 1-2-3 top of seventh inning.
Liberatore (15-13) suffered the loss for Tech, pitching the complete game. Liberatore allowed three runs on nine hits and retired four at the plate. Flynn (25-8) saw victory for Eastern Kentucky pitching the complete game one-hit shout out.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday, facing the loser of the Eastern Illinois-Morehead game at 10 a.m. at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
