APSU Sports: Austin Peay Softball
Woodstock, GA – Down to its last out and six runs down, Austin Peay State University’s softball rallied to pick up an 11-9 extra-inning victory over Mercer before falling to Miami (Ohio) University 7-3 in the nightcap to earn a split of its season-opening games at the Kennesaw State Classic.
Sophomore Lauren de Castro’s grand slam in the top of the seventh inning tied the game 7-7, after the Lady Govs entered the inning down 7-1, after being down to their last out and only one runner on base.
Freshman Lauren Bradley followed with a single and senior Amy Mills walked to load the bases.
Red-shirt junior Shelby Norton made it 7-3 on a single to left, scoring Cozart, and set up de Castro’s heroics.
She finished the game with five RBI.
It was the first grand slam for Austin Peay since Mills hit a game-winning slam against Tennessee Martin on April 12th, 2011.
Austin Peay had to dodge a bullet in the bottom of the inning against the Bears, with Mercer having two runners in scoring position, with one out, but Kristin Marko lineout to shortstop Laurel Burroughs, who threw to Davidson at third to catch Krista Kennedy off the base for a double play to end the threat.
The Lady Govs continued their hitting in the extra inning of play by recording four hits – including RBI singles by Cozart, de Castro and freshman Sarah Rasmussen, with Norton bring in a run with a base-loaded hit by pitch.
Mercer would score twice in the bottom of the inning to cut the Lady Govs advantage back to 11-9, before junior Morgan Brewer got Kennedy out on strikes to end the game.
The Lady Govs other run in the game came on a fourth-inning solo home run by red-shirt sophomore Kristin Whitmire.
Austin Peay wasn’t as lucky in the second game, as the RedHawks scored twice in the first inning and five more times in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead.
The single was Cozart’s fourth hit of the day and the 100th of her career, making her the 28th Lady Gov to reach that mark.
Rasmussen, Bradley and Whitmire all finished the two games with three hits each.
The Lady Govs conclude their play in the classic today with a noon game against Southern Illinois Carbondale and Kennesaw State at 4:00pm.
