APSU Sports Information
Cookeville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Autumn Hanners recorded the Govs first 1-0 shutout in three years, Saturday at Tennessee Tech’s Softball Field, while Kacy Acree accounted all the scoring in the Ohio Valley Conference contest to earn a split with the Golden Eagles after dropping a 10-inning heartbreaker in the opener, 6-5.
The last 1-0 shutout win by APSU was back on March 8th, 2014, when former Govs standout Lauren de Castro defeated Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Tennessee Tech’s best scoring chance of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Golden Eagles (10-21, 3-3 OVC) loaded the bases, with one out, but Hanners got the final two outs of the inning on a pop-up to second base and a hump-back liner to shortstop too end the threat.
The Govs run came in the top of the sixth inning, with Acree – who also recorded a triple in the contest — blasting her seventh home run of the season out over the center field fence for what turned out to be the difference maker.
Danielle Liermann and Kendall Vedder had the Govs other two hits in the victory.
In Game 1, the Govs got into a hole early-on with starter Kelsey Gross only lasting three hitters – all of whom reached base – before being taken out for Christiana Gable.
Gable (1-5) would get the first batter she faced, but Tech’s Alyssa Richards followed that first out by hitting a home run off the foul pole down the left field line to give the Golden Eagles a quick 4-0 lead.
Tech would add a run in the third inning to extend its lead to 5-0, before the Govs responded with a run of its own in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single by Drew Dudley.
The score would remain that way due to the outstanding pitching by Gable until the top of the seventh, when the Govs scored four times to tie the game.
Acree would start the inning with a single and move around to third base when Liermann followed with a double.
Gable would then single, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, but both Acree and Liermann came in to score and make it 5-3 game.
Carly Mattson would then walk and score all the way around from first base when Vedder followed with a double to make it 5-4.
Allie Blackwood would come off the bench and pick up a single to move Vedder to third, but the throw back into the infield was misplayed by Tech’s pitcher – going into the TTU dugout – allowing Vedder to score the tying run.
Emily Moore would lead the Govs with three hits, while Acree and Gable had two hits each in Game 1.
Both team would have chances to score runs over the next two innings, but it would be Tech in the bottom of the 10th inning that would finally score the game winner on a two-out error with the bases loaded to come away with the 6-5 win.
Gable would get the loss, despite pitching the longest outing of her career – going nine-plus innings — giving up eight hits, three runs (only two earned), while walking five and striking out five.
