34.5 F
Clarksville
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeSportsAPSU Softball beats Alabama A&M, 5-3

APSU Softball beats Alabama A&M, 5-3

APSU Sports Information

APSU SoftballHuntsville, AL – Austin Peay State University’s softball team got home runs from Carly Mattson and Danielle Liermann to power past Alabama A&M, 5-3, Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Field.

The victory was the Govs’ first and also the first new APSU head coach Rodney DeLong.

Austin Peay Softball uses the long ball to defeat Alabama A&M Tuesday afternoon in Huntsville. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Softball uses the long ball to defeat Alabama A&M Tuesday afternoon in Huntsville. (APSU Sports Information)

The second game of the doubleheader with Alabama A&M was suspended after four innings of play, tied 2-2, and will resume on April 25th at Cheryl Holt Field.

It would be the Govs (1-3) who would break the seal on the scoreless pitcher’s duel, with Mattson hitting a one-out, fourth-inning solo home run over the center field fence to give APSU a 1-0 advantage.

Alabama A&M (0-3) would answer with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game for the final time 1-1. But Liermann would put the Govs up for good in the top of the fifth inning going opposite field for her season’s second home – a two-run shot over the right field fence that scored Natalie Schilling – to give APSU a 3-1 lead.

The Bulldogs cut the Govs advantage to one, 3-2, with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Govs would continue to pad its lead with single runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, with Brooke Pfefferle driving in Kendall Vedder with a triple to right field in the sixth and Emily Moore scoring on a throwing error by the Bulldogs in the seventh to push the lead to 5-2.

Alabama A&M mounted one final rally in the bottom of the seventh, but could only muster a single run for the final 5-3 margin.

Morgan Rackel (1-1) picked up the complete-game victory for the Govs, scattering seven hits in allowing three runs – two earned – while striking out six and walking three.

The Govs are now off until February 23rd when they open play at the Central Arkansas Tournament in Conway, AR.

Follow the Govs softball team on Austin Peay’s official athletics website Let’sGoPeay.com or on Twitter @AustinPeaySB.

Inside the Box Score

APSU is now 20-1 all-time versus the Bulldogs, including winning the last 14 meetings.

Govs scored a season-best five runs along with recording a season-high nine hits.

The two home runs hit by the Govs versus the Bulldogs was the first multi-home run game by APSU since April 5, 2017 at Evansville.

Freshman second baseman Brooke Pfefferle briefly left the game in the bottom of the second with a minor injury after covering first base on a bunt, but returned in the bottom of the third inning.

Morgan Rackel was lone Governor to record more than one hit in the victory, finishing with two hits.

Freshmen Katie Keen and Katelyn Smith saw their first action of the season in pinch-running and pinch-hitting opportunities respectively.

Carly Mattson‘s home run was the 15th of her career, tying Kayla Davidson (2011-14) for ninth-place all-time in school history.

Coaching Quotables with Head Coach Rodney DeLong

On getting first win at Austin Peay
“It was good to kind of get the monkey off your back, that’s for sure.”

On Rackel’s pitching
“She had another solid effort and she’s given us a chance (to win) very time.”

On still being a work in progress
“We did just enough to win the game, but we still have a long ways to go, so I’m looking for to the next week-and-a-half of practice that is coming up. We’re going to turn it up a notch and get prepared for the Central Arkansas tournament.”

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles