Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) softball team completed a sweep of their three-game ASUN Conference series versus Bellarmine, Saturday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, with their third shutout of the weekend, as the Governors came away with a 6-0 victory over the Knights.
The Governors (20-13, 8-4 ASUN) broke on top in the contest in the bottom of the second inning, with Skylar Sheridan opening the inning with a double, followed by a walk to Kendyl Weinzapfel and a single to Macee Roberts to load the bases.
That brought up Emily Harkleroad, who lifted a fly ball deep enough to left to score Sheridan with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.
Megan Hodum, who finished the weekend going 7-for-10 at the plate, then followed with an RBI single, making it 2-0.
Govs starter Jordan Benefiel (15-6) would take it from there, as the junior right hander limited the Knights (4-31, 1-11 ASUN) to just two base runners in the contest, a third inning hit by pitch and a sixth inning single, while striking out seven.
Austin Peay would break the game open in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four times, including two runs coming in on Roberts’ first home run of the season, one on a solo shot by Lexi Osowski-Anderson and one on an RBI ground out by Morgan Zuege.
Inside the Boxscore
The three straight shutouts pitched by the Govs are the first for Austin Peay since March 23-24, 1995, versus Kentucky State and Tennessee State.
Jordan Benefiel has now thrown back-to-back shutouts twice this season (Dayton-Villanova/February 17th-18th).
Jordan Benefiel’s shutout was her seventh of the season, tying Morgan Rackel (2018), Natasha Anderson (2007) and Angel Thompson (1995) for the third-most shutouts in a single season by a Govs pitcher.
Lexi Osowski-Anderson’s home run was her 219th career hit and 28th career homer, moving her into second place alone in program history for career hits and alone in fourth for career home runs.
With her stolen base in the fourth inning, Emily Harkleroad became the ninth player in program history to record 30 career stolen bases.
Jordan Benefiel picked up her 37th career win, moving her into a tie with Morgan Brewer (2010-13) for fifth in career victories in program history.
With their eight stolen bases this weekend, the Govs now have 42 stolen bases for the season, the most since they stole 50 bases during the 2019 season.
The shutout was the APSU Govs ninth of the season, tying the 2007 team for the fourth-most shutouts in a single season by a Govs pitching staff.
Tickets
For information, or to buy tickets to any other home softball games this season, go online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets or call the Austin Peay Ticket Office at 931.221.PEAY (7329).
APSU Govs Online
For up-to-date news and information on Austin Peay State University softball, go to LetsGoPeay.com or follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@GovsSB), or on Facebook. Live stats will be available during all home games at PeayStats.com.
In addition, all APSU home games will be broadcast on ESPN+ this season, visit the softball schedule at LetsGoPeay.com for a complete broadcast schedule.
Next Up For APSU Softball
The Austin Peay State University softball team ends their short four-game homestand on Wednesday at 5:00pm with a non-conference single game versus Middle Tennessee.
