Austin Peay State University Softball falls at home to Belmont, 11-3

Austin Peay Sports Information

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s softball team ran into a hot Belmont team, Saturday afternoon at Cheryl Holt Field, with the Bruins sweeping the Govs to extend their Ohio Valley Conference win streak to five games, with 11-3 and 9-2 victories.

The Govs (5-24, 1-11 OVC) had taken a 2-1 in the bottom of the second inning of Game 1 on Niya Sparks third home run of the season, but Belmont responded with eight runs in the top of the third inning and never looked back.

Lexi Rouse would start the scoring with a two-run homer, which opened the floodgates in the inning, with Jordan Spicer, Mac Stewart and Baylee Cook picking up RBI singles, while Kayla Wells drove in two with a base hit and Jordan Daly picking up an RBI on a ground out for the 9-2 advantage.

The score would remain that way until the top of the fifth, when Belmont (14-23, 7-5 OVC) added two more runs on a double by Cook, before Austin Peay closed out the games scoring in the bottom of the fifth on a ground out by Danielle Liermann.

Sparks and Chandler Groves would lead Austin Peay with two hits each.

Carolyn Snodgress (3-6) picked up the win in relief, while Christiana Gable (0-1) took the loss in her first career start in the circle.

In Game 2, Belmont scored the first seven runs of the contest – including the first six being unearned, with the help of three APSU errors – with the Bruins leading 7-0 before the Govs would get on the board in the sixth.

A Kendall Vedder error in the first led to Belmont taking a 1-0 led, while Kacy Acree‘s error on a fly ball to open the top of the second inning allowed the Bruins an extra at bat, which turned out to be a Wells two-run homer.

An error by Vinchenza DiBenedetto also allowed the inning to continue with Belmont picking up three hits, a walk and a hit batter to add on three more runs – including a two-run double by Rouse and a RBI single by Amy Zeronian – for a 6-0 lead.

The score would remain that way until the top of the fifth, when Belmont’s Wells drove in a run with a single, with Daly driving in a run in the sixth for an 8-0 lead.

Austin Peay would ruin the Bruins possible shutout in the bottom of the sixth on Acree’s fourth home run of the season – a two-run shot – to make it 8-2.

But that would be as close as the Govs would get, with Belmont tacking on a run in the seventh on a ground out by Kate Black for the 9-2 final.

Rouse (5-4) got the win, while Hooper (0-8) took the loss.

Austin Peay returns to action, noon, Sunday when they host Tennessee State at Cheryl Holt Field.