Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) softball’s Bailey Shorter reached the 100-hit milestone for her career, Sunday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field on the final day of the Governors Classic, as the Govs held off Purdue Fort Wayne, 6-4, before falling to UMass Lowell in their finale, 15-5.
Shorter became the 36th Governor in the program’s 35-year history to reach 100 career hits, with the milestone knock coming in the fifth inning versus Purdue Fort Wayne, on a single to right field.
Austin Peay State University 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 4
Austin Peay State University would see the Mastodons jump out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as the PFW leadoff hitter lifted one over the center field wall on the fifth pitch of the game.
But the Govs responded with a long ball in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, 1-1, with Lexi Osowski hitting her third of the season.
APSU would take the lead for good in the third on Shorter’s second home run of the season, before adding a single run in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Brooke Pfefferle and an a RBI single by Osowski to make it 6-1.
That would be more than enough for APSU Govs starter Harley Mullins (5-5), despite giving up three late runs, as she recorded a career single-game high nine strikeouts in pitched her third complete-game victory of the weekend.
UMass Lowell 15, Austin Peay State University 5
After a scoreless first inning for both teams, things turned the wrong way for the Govs after that, with the Riverhawks exploding for five second innings runs on their way to building a 7-0 lead before the Govs were able to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third.
In that inning, the APSU Govs would score two runs on three hits, including RBI singles from Pfefferle and Osowski to make it 7-2.
That would be as close as the Govs would get the rest of the way, with UML adding eight more runs over their final two at bats to pull away to a 15-2 lead before Osowski picked up her second home run of the day – this time a three-run shot — for the 15-5 final margin.
Inside the Boxscore
With Lexi Osowski’s home runs in each game Sunday, she joined Emily Moore (February 29th vs. IUPUI and Illinois State) as the only two Govs to hit home runs in back-to-back games this season.
The 15 runs given up to UMass Lowell is the most runs given up by the Govs to an opponent in a single game since they gave up 17 runs to Indiana State back on February 25th, 2017.
Bailey Shorter not only became the 36th player in program history to reach 100 career this, she also became the 25th player to do it in their first three seasons.
Senior Victoria Eccleston picked up her first hit of the season with a fifth inning single versus UMass Lowell.
With their three wins this weekend, the current 2020 senior class ties last year’s seniors for the most wins by any senior class in program history, with 98 wins.
Next Up For Austin Peay State University
The Austin Peay State University softball team will end their current homestand, 2:00pm, Wednesday with a doubleheader versus Siena.
