Lady Govs softball earns split in opening day of Austin Peay Spring Classic

APSU Women’s Softball

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay’s softball team held off a late-inning rally by Missouri-Kansas City Saturday night to earn a 5-4 win and a split of its two games in the Austin Peay Spring Classic at Lady Govs Field. The Lady Govs dropped their opener, 7-0, to Cleveland State earlier Saturday.

The Lady Govs (2-4) had build a 5-1 lead heading into the final inning, but the Kangaroos scored three times to cut the Lady Govs lead to one, with the tying run on third with two out. But sophomore right-handed pitcher Morgan Brewer got Katie Henning to ground out to senior third baseman Tiffany Smith to end the game.

Austin Peay had taken the lead in the second inning on red-shirt sophomore Shelby Norton’s second home run this season, while added another run in the fourth to make it 2-0 on an RBI single by red-shirt freshman Kristin Whitmire, scoring Smith, who had doubled to open the inning.

Missouri-Kansas City (4-3) scored a run in the top of the fifth inning to make it 3-1, but the Lady Govs answered right back in the bottom of the frame, scoring three times – the first on a triple by senior Randal Davenport, then a single by junior Catie Cozart and finally on a Smith double.

Junior Amy Mills was the other Lady Gov to record a hit against UMKC.

Brewer (1-1) pitched the complete-game victory, scattering nine hits and striking out three.

In their opening game, Saturday morning, against Cleveland State (4-3), the Lady Govs weren’t so lucky. They outhit the Ohio school 7-6 overall, but left 14 base runners stranded, while also committing four errors on defense.

Austin Peay concludes play in its classic Sunday with games versus Ball State, at 3:00pm, followed by Belmont at 5:00pm.

Sunday games will start 9:00am at Lady Govs Field.