EIU softball swept it’s sixth doubleheader of the season with a pair of wins over Tennessee Tech, as Eastern won 7-3 in game one and 6-0 in game two Saturday at Williams Field.
Eastern struck early in game one by plating a pair of runs in the home half of the first inning. The Panthers kept a gap between themselves and the Golden Eagles throughout the game.
Every time Tennessee Tech scored runs, Eastern matched that total in the bottom half of the inning and kept a two-run gap.
A 5-3 lead was extended in the bottom of the sixth when freshman catcher Peyton Dwiggans pulled a hard ground ball down the third base line to drive in a pair of runs to make it 7-3.
Tennessee Tech threatened in the seventh after putting the first two runners on with nobody out, but a line drive was snagged by senior pitcher Bryanna French, who calmly turned around and threw the ball to second base to double off the lead runner.
French got the next hitter to groundout to end the ballgame.
“I thought we showed up, and we hit the ball well,” Co-head coach Dan Paulson said. “We left too many runners on base still, but we stacked hits on top of each other and our pitching did outstanding.”
The Panthers were led offensively by senior third baseman Lizzie Stiverson and senior centerfielder Marybeth Dyson in game one. They both collected three hits each, and the pair outhit Tennessee Tech as a team. Eastern had 13 hits in total in game one compared to Tennessee Tech’s five.
Senior Karlie McKenzie was the winning pitcher in a five-inning start. She fanned a season-high eight batters, allowed five hits, three earned runs and walked four. French retired six of the final eight hitters she faced to pick up her third save of the season.
Game two featured much more energy from Eastern, said Paulson.
It helped that sophomore pitcher Rylan Gick twirled a complete game shutout, which kept Eastern in control for most of the game.
“I just had to go out there and trust my defense,” Gick said. “Trust my spin and overall, I thought everything was working pretty well for me.”
A scoreless deadlock was broken for the Panthers (25-20, 16-3) in the third inning, when freshman infielder Viola Smith got a center-cut pitch ahead in the count and drove it to center field.
By the time Golden Eagle centerfielder Alina Schlageter got to the fence, the ball was just out of her reach and landed on the other side of the fence for a solo home run.
“I honestly thought she was going to catch the ball,” Smith said.
That sparked a five-run third inning for Eastern.
Coming into this game, Smith only had one hit; a home run in a game against Lipscomb. In the fifth inning, Smith again homered. It was another solo home run to give Eastern a 6-0 lead.
Smith now, in her young collegiate career, has three total hits. All of them are round trippers.
“That was outstanding,” Paulson said. “She’s been seeing the ball well. That’s why she got into the lineup. She also got to play a game last weekend and did well. So, we wanted to make sure she got an opportunity and she’s making the most of it.”
The pair of wins officially secures an OVC tournament berth for Eastern. The Panthers sit two games ahead in first place in the standings.
Eastern wraps up the Tennessee Tech series with the final game tomorrow. First pitch is set for noon.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
