Mobile, AL – Austin Peay State University’s softball team got out to an early lead over national-ranked Alabama-Birmingham, Saturday in the second day of the University of South Alabama Mardi Gras Invitational, but couldn’t hold the Blazers at bay down the stretch losing 4-1.
Austin Peay (1-3) took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against UAB, the 25th ranked team in the ESPN.COM/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, with senior Kayla Davidson drawing a walk to open the game, move to third on a two-out single by senior Lauren de Castro and score on a single by sophomore Mel Pavel.
The score would remain that way until the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Blazers (1-2) loaded the bases with one out on two singles and a base on balls.
UAB would tie the game 1-1 when de Castro, the Lady Govs starting pitcher, would then hit Amy Dennis to force in a run.
The Blazers would take the lead for good, 2-1 on a two-out infield single by Anna Theriot in the fifth inning.
Austin Peay threaten to tie, or retake the lead in the top of the sixth, with Davidson earning a walk to open the inning and move around to third base on an one-out double to center field by fifth-year senior Kristin Whitmire.
But the Lady Govs couldn’t push a run across, with de Castro following with a pop-up to short stop and Pavel striking out swinging.
UAB would tack on two insurance runs in the bottom of the six inning for the 4-1 final.
In Game 1 on Saturday, the Lady Govs were taken out of the game in the first inning against McNeese State (2-1), as the Cowgirls sent 16 batters to the plate in scoring 12 runs on 10 hits.
The only other hit in the game was a third-inning double by de Castro.
Austin Peay concludes play in the invitational today versus the invitational host No. 22-ranked South Alabama at 12:15pm.
Box Score – Game 1
McNeese State vs Austin Peay
February 8th, 2014 at Mobile, AL (Jaguar Field)
McNeese State 16 (2-1)
| Player | ab | r | h | rbi | bb | so | po | a | lob |
| DiVittorio, Alanna cf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Langner, Lauren lf | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vincent, Emily dp/rf | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Modzelewski, Ashley c | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogers, Allison pr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yanitor, Tori c | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Roux, Katie ss/2b | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Arriaga, Melissa ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennedy, Kim 1b | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Schisler, Amber ph/1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fontenot, Lakeyn 3b | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Matiko, Dakota ph/3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Goree, Taylor 2b/ss | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Fossler, Daleigh ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rich, Victoria rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Schmidt, Taylor ph/dp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lilly, Bianca p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith, Rachel p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 34 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 8 |
Austin Peay 1 (1-2)
| Player | ab | r | h | rbi | bb | so | po | a | lob |
| DAVIDSON, Kayla dp | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BURROUGHS, Laurel 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| WHITMIRE, Kristin 1b | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| de Castro, Lauren rf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| De VRIES, Amanda rf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PAVEL, Mel c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| DiBENEDETTO, Vinchen 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| SPARKS, Niya ph/3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BARTUCCIO, Brianna p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MILLS, Taylor p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GABLE, Christiana p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| BEAM, Christina ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| ARKANSAS, Rikki lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| LARIOS, Fatima cf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 19 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 4 |
Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- McNeese State....... (12)04 00 - 16 17 1 Austin Peay......... 1 00 00 - 1 3 3 ----------------------------------------- |
| E – Roux; WHITMIRE; DIBENEDETTO; BARTUCCIO. LOB – MCN 8; Austin Peay 4. 2B – Langner; Vincent; Yanitor; DE CASTRO. 3B – Kennedy. HBP – WHITMIRE. SF – DiVittorio. |
Box Score – Game 2
Austin Peay vs #25 UAB
February 8th, 2014 at Mobile, AL. (Jaguar Field)
Austin Peay 1 (1-3)
| Player | ab | r | h | rbi | bb | so | po | a | lob |
| DAVIDSON, Kayla 3b | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| BURROUGHS, Laurel 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| WHITMIRE, Kristin 1b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| de Castro, Lauren p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HOOPER, Sidney p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| PAVEL, Mel c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| GABLE, Christiana dp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| SPARKS, Niya dp | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LARIOS, Fatima cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brower, Courtney ph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BEAM, Christina ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| EISENBRAUN, Ashley ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ARKANSAS, Rikki lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| De VRIES, Amanda rf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 8 | 5 |
UAB 4 (1-2)
| Player | ab | r | h | rbi | bb | so | po | a | lob |
| ATTFIELD,Caitlin ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| DENNIS,Amy 3b/cf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| PEARSON,Heather 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MCGRATH,Kristen rf/dp | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| FALLEN,JoJo pr/rf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WARREN,Mary 1b/cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WATERS,Amy pr/cf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BESHEL,Lauren pr/dp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DAVIS,Hayley cf/lf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MCGRATH,Megan dp/1b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| FERNANDEZ,Danii pr/3b | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| JOHNSON,Ashley c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 2 |
| THERIOT,Anna lf/rf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STREETMAN,Leigh p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 24 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 13 |
Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Austin Peay......... 100 000 0 - 1 3 1 UAB................. 000 112 X - 4 8 0 ----------------------------------------- |
| E – BEAM. LOB – Austin Peay 5; UAB 13. 2B – WHITMIRE; PEARSON,H. HBP – BROWER; ATTFIELD,C; DENNIS,A 2; WARREN,M 2; DAVIS,H. SH – DENNIS,A; MCGRATH,M. SB – FALLEN,J; DAVIS,H. CS – BESHEL,L. |
