APSU Women’s Softball
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay’s softball team withstood a three home run effort by Eastern Michigan to win the finale of a three-game series, Sunday afternoon at Lady Govs Field, 5-4, after dropping the suspended second game from Saturday, 3-1, in eight innings.
Austin Peay (6-22) — who had been limited to four total runs in the first two games against the Eagles — got thing going early, with juniors Catie Cozart and Amy Mills recording back-to-back one-out singles – followed by senior Tiffany Smith drawing a walk to load the bases.
Eastern Michigan (11-5) would cut the Lady Govs lead to 3-2 in the second on a leadoff home run by Kayla Kostich, but Austin Peay would respond with single runs in both the third and fourth innings.
In the third inning, Mills reached on a one-out double and scored when Smith followed with a double of her own.
In the fourth inning, Cozart singled with one out and advanced when the Eagles center fielder let the ball get by her.
Cozart finished the game with two hits and two runs scored.
Mills, who finished the game 3-for-3, then hit her second double of the game bringing in Cozart for a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles would cut the Lady Gov lead to one run in the sixth inning on a two-run homer, but that would be as close as Eastern Michigan would get, as the Lady Govs sat the Eagles down in order in the seventh to seal away the victory.
Sophomore Morgan Brewer (4-8) got the win in relief after coming in for Lady Gov starter Taylor Mills.
Austin Peay and Eastern Michigan also finished the suspended second game from Saturday prior to the series finale, but the Lady Govs weren’t so luck in that outcome.
The Lady Govs had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning Saturday, when Smith opened the inning with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by red-shirt freshman Kristin Whitmire and scored on a throwing error by the Eagles right fielder following a single by red-shirt sophomore Jessica Ryan.
Austin Peay would hold that lead until the bottom of the seven inning, when the Eagles took advantage of a walk and passed ball to get the tying run into scoring position, but needed a two-out double – just out of reach of Ryan in left field — to tie the game 1-1.
Eastern Michigan would win the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a walk-off two-run home run by Sarah Gerber.
Austin Peay returns to action on Tuesday, 5:00pm, when it hosts the No. 11 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols for a single game at Lady Govs Field.
