Sweeps galore as softball teams begin OVC play

Eastern+shortstop+Megan+Burton+attempts+to+place+a+tag+on+a+Morehead+State+baserunner+in+first+game+of+a+doubleheader+on+Sunday+at+Williams+Field.+Eastern+won+the+game+4-0.+

Adam Tumino

Eastern shortstop Megan Burton attempts to place a tag on a Morehead State baserunner in first game of a doubleheader on Sunday at Williams Field. Eastern won the game 4-0.

Ryan Meyer, Softball Reporter

Every OVC softball team is either winless or undefeated in conference play, as the first weekend of conference play wrapped up with sweeps up and down the standings.

Murray State, Tennessee-Martin, Belmont, Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois are all 3-0, and Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Tennessee State, SIUE and Morehead State are 0-3, meaning that there are five teams tied for first and five teams tied for last.

Each unbeaten team has a win streak of at least four, with Eastern and Murray State tied for the longest at nine.

Murray State has the two pitchers with the lowest ERAs in the conference, Jenna Veber with 1.08 in 65 innings and Hannah James with 1.20 in 75.2. The Racers also have the lowest ERA out of all the teams in the OVC by a wide margin.

In 28 games the Racers have only allowed 31 runs and walked 34 batters. The next closest team is UT Martin with 58 and 48, respectively.

Rachel Rook of Southeast Missouri has recorded the most strikeouts in the OVC, with 103 in 76.1 innings, 17 more than the second-closest, Murray State’s James.

Tennessee-Martin leads the OVC in batting average at .318 and slugging percentage at .480 in 23 games.

Morehead State has the highest ERA in the conference at 7.30 and the second-lowest batting average, hitting .213 as a team.

Lexi Osowski of Austin Peay leads the conference in batting average for hitters with 40 or more at-bats, batting .458 in 83 plate appearances. Osowski also leads the OVC in hits with 38. Austin Peay is on top of the conference with 236 hits.

Eastern’s Hannah Cravens leads the OVC in home runs with 10, which also puts her in the top 20 in all of Division I. Cravens is second in the conference in RBIs with 26, trailing only Haeli Bryson of Tennessee Tech. Cravens is also second in doubles with 10.

Cravens’ 26 RBIs contributes to Eastern’s conference-leading 152.

Eastern has scored the most runs out of all the OVC teams with 167, leading the next closest, Tennessee Tech, by nine. The Panthers are also second in the conference in hits with 219, trailing Austin Peay by 17.

With 110 walks drawn, the Panthers lead the OVC by a wide margin, with the next closest again being Tennessee Tech with 75.

The next OVC matchup will be Saturday, when Eastern travels to Nashville to play Tennessee State.

 

Ryan Meyer can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].