Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) softball and Tennessee Tech split their Ohio Valley Conference softball doubleheader, Saturday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, with the Governors winning in coming-from-behind fashion in the opener, 9-4, while dropping the nightcap, 11-1.
Austin Peay 9, Tennessee Tech 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Tennessee Tech | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Austin Peay | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | X | 9 | 14 | 0 |
W: BENEFIEL, Jordan (8-6) L: ARDEN,Alyssa (10-7)
The Governors (16-18, 3-7 OVC) would see the Golden Eagles (23-10, 6-4 OVC) get out to a 2-0 lead after their first two at-bats but would take its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third, after scoring three times.
Mea Clark would open the inning with her sixth home run of the season, followed by a single by Morgan Zuege.
Bailey Shorter would sacrifice Zuege to second and then score on a Megan Hodum triple to tie the game, 2-2, with Lexi Osowski then singling in Hodum, to make it 3-2.
Tennessee Tech would retake the lead with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth, but Austin Peay answered right back with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good, 8-4.
Emily Harkleroad opened the inning with a bunt single, then move around to third on a double by Clark.
Zuege would score Harkleroad with a sacrifice fly, flowed by a two-run homer by Shorter.
That would be more than enough for Jordan Benefiel (8-6) would pick up the win in relief, going the final five innings and allowing two runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out five.
The game’s final run came in the bottom of the sixth, with Osowski hitting her team-leading ninth home run of the season.
Tennessee Tech 11, Austin Peay 1
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
| Tennessee Tech | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| Austin Peay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
W: ARDEN,Alyssa (11-7) L: MULLINS, Harley (3-4)
Austin Peay would get into a hole early on in the contest, as they saw Tech score five times in the top of the first inning.
They would try to respond in the bottom of the inning, scoring once on an RBI double by Kylie Campbell, that drove in Osowski to make it, 5-1.
But that would be as close as the Govs would get the rest of the way, as the Golden Eagles score two runs in each of the second, third, and fifth innings of the 11-1 final.
Inside the Boxscore
Lexi Osowski’s four hits in Game 1 was the first four-hit game by a Gov since Kylie Campbell’s four-hit effort versus Northern Illinois on March 5th.
With 20 games left on their schedule, the Govs have already hit more home runs this season (26) than they did in all of 2021 (23).
Megan Hodum’s triple in Game 1 was the Govs 10th of the season, giving APSU back-to-back seasons of double-figure triples for the first time since the 1996-97 seasons.
Osowski moved past Louranda Sanders (1997-2000) for sixth-place all-time in runs scored in program history, with 104.
Osowski moved into a tie with Andrea Miller (1993-96) and Natasha Anderson (2004-07) for sixth all-time in program history in home runs with her 22nd of her career in Game 1.
Next Up For APSU Softball
The Austin Peay State University softball team will conclude its OVC weekend series with Tennessee Tech on Sunday at 1:00pm with a single game at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field.
For news and updates on everything APSU softball, follow along on Twitter (@GovsSB) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
