Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) dropped a pair of softball games to Belmont, Saturday afternoon at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, to open Ohio Valley Conference play, as the Governors (13-13, 0-2 OVC) fell to the Bruins (11-7, 2-0 OVC) by 11-8 and 6-3 finals.
Belmont 11, Austin Peay 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Belmont | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 2 |
| Austin Peay | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 4 |
W: Bryant, Delayna (2-0) L: MIENER, Samantha (5-7)
The Austin Peay State University saw Belmont jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, aided by two errors, but responded with a two-run homer from Brooke Pfefferle in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, 2-2.
Kendyl Weinzapfel and Emily Harkleroad would open the inning with back-to-back singles, with Weinzapfel scoring on a throwing error by the Belmont catcher when Harkleroad stole second.
Mea Clark and Morgan Zuege would then draw walks to load the bases, followed by an RBI ground out by Bailey Shorter, an RBI single by Megan Hodum and an RBI ground out by Lexi Osowski.
Pfefferle would cap off the inning with a solo home run, her second of the game to give the APSU Govs an 8-2 lead.
The Bruins would cut into the Govs lead in the third, scoring four runs – including three coming on a home run to make it 8-6.
The score would remain that way until the top of the sixth when Belmont hit its second home run of the game to make it a one-run game, 8-7.
The Govs couldn’t keep the Bruins at bay in the seventh, as they scored four times to take the lead for good, 11-8.
Belmont 6, Austin Peay 3
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Belmont | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| Austin Peay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
W: Summers, Emma (5-2) L: MULLINS, Harley (2-2)
Just like in the opening game of the day, Austin Peay State University would see Belmont score twice in the top of the first and then extend their lead to 4-0 in the fourth, adding two more runs.
APSU would cut into the deficit with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, the first coming on Osowski’s fourth home run of the season and the other on a Shorter RBI double.
The Bruins would extend its lead with two more runs in the sixth, with the APSU Govs scoring one final time in the bottom of the seventh, on an RBI single by Zuege, for the 6-3 final.
Inside the Boxscore
Emily Harkleroad became the 39th Governor in program history to record 100 career hits, with her single in the second inning of Game 1.
Bailey Shorter, Lexi Osowski, Brooke Pfefferle, and Harkleroad all have 100+ career hits, marking only the second time in program history (2006-Brianna Venable, Jennifer Simpkins, Amy Hale, Natasha Anderson) where four active players on the same roster have at least 100 career hits each.
Pfefferle’s two home runs in Game 1 is the first two home run game for an APSU Gov since Pfefferle hit two home runs versus Siena on March 11th, 2020.
Pfefferle’s two runs scored in Game 1 gives her 99 runs scored in her career, tying her with Laurel Burroughs (2013-16) for 10th all-time in program history.
Shorter’s four hits on the day give her 166 for her career, tying her with Vanessa Stagner (1992-95) for 10th all-time in program history.
Pfefferle’s three RBIs in Game 1 give her 86 in her career, tying her with Amanda Travis (1996-99) and Natasha Anderson (2004-07) for ninth-most in program history.
Next Up For APSU Softball
The Austin Peay State University softball team concludes its three-game OVC series versus Belmont on Sunday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field. The game begins at 1:00pm.
For news and updates on everything Governors softball, follow along on Twitter (@GovsSB) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
