Belmont 12, Southeast Missouri 11 Box Score
Southeast Missouri 3, Belmont 1 Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (9-15, 2-2 OVC) softball split a doubleheader with Ohio Valley Conference East Division foe Belmont (10-13, 1-4 OVC) Saturday; losing game one to an impressive Belmont comeback, 11-12, and winning game two, 3-1.
“We hit the ball exceptionally well today; our offense was firing on all cylinders,” said head coach Lana Richmond. “It was a matter of us making defensive plays and getting work done in the circle. Putting up 11 runs, we expect to do something whereas when we put up three, we almost get a shutout.”
Belmont 12, Southeast Missouri 11
Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Southeast Missouri held an 11-7 lead over the Bruins. Belmont pieced together five runs in the inning, scoring both the tying run and winning run on squeeze plays.
The Bruins touched home in the first off a fielding error by the Redhawks to score two and put Belmont up 2-0 early in the contest.
Lead-off hitter Alexis Anderson had something else to say about it when she launched a ball over the left center field wall which started a three-run inning for Southeast. The scoring continued with a Brittany Smith double to score Simone Patterson and quickly tie up the game. Kaitlin Zink plated the early go-ahead run with an RBI single, 3-2 Southeast.
The Redhawks extended the lead in the fourth which started with an RBI double by Zink followed by an RBI single from Lindsey Patterson, putting Southeast up 5-2. They added another run in the fifth with a monster shot by S. Patterson to dead center field, 6-2 Redhawks.
Belmont was right back in the game on one swing of the bat with a three-run home run by Kat Hollingsworth, narrowing Southeast's lead to 6-5.
The Redhawks jumped way out in front with five runs in the sixth innings which started with a bases-loaded single by Anderson, scoring Zink. With bases still loaded, S. Patterson threaded a single up the middle, scoring Renee Terry. Chelsea Smith reached on a fielder's choice that failed to get Brittany Smith out at second, also scoring two runs on the play. With bases loaded again, Zink hit another RBI single past the third baseman to put the Redhawks way out in front, 11-5.
Belmont narrowed the deficit in their half of the inning with a two-RBI double off the bat of Kim Johnson, 11-7.
The Bruins got hot when it mattered most manufacturing five runs, each one-by-one, in the bottom of the seventh. The comeback started with a bases-loaded single from Courtney Elrod; 11-8, no one out. Heather Turner reached on a fielder's choice that got Mia Vierra out at second that also scored a run; 11-9, one out. With the tying run on first and the winning run at the plate, Jessica Wilson singled to right field, scoring another run; 11-10. The Bruins tied the game with a well-executed squeeze bunt by Kim Johnson. Pitcher L. Patterson got a crucial strikeout to get the second out of the inning. With the winning run on third, Amanda Criscione executed the Bruins second squeeze bunt of the inning to score the winning run, 12-11 Belmont.
Southeast outhit Belmont 15-11 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Zink posted a 4-for-5 performance with three RBI. S. Patterson went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. L. Patterson, Anderson, and Becker all had two hits in the contest.
Hannah Clemons (1-4) suffered the loss in the contest.
Katie Clancy (1-0) recorded her first win of the season after pitching 1.2 innings in relief for the Bruins.
Southeast Missouri 3, Belmont 1
Contrary to game one, game two was a low-scoring contest in which Southeast lead the whole way.
Southeast struck first in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader on an RBI single off the bat of Cowan to score Zink, 1-0 Redhawks in the third.
Southeast extended their lead in the sixth inning on a pair of RBI singles from B. Smith and C. Smith, going up 3-0 on the Bruins.
Belmont tried to put together another comeback for the second time on the day in the seventh when they scored on a two-out error, narrowing the Redhawk lead to 3-1. Hannah Clemons got the final out of the inning to secure the victory for the Redhawks.
Southeast outhit the Bruins for the second time in the doubleheader, 7-5. Anderson and B. Smith each went 2-for-3 in the contest.
Five separate batters combined for Belmont's hit count.
L. Patterson (2-2) earned the win in game two after coming in for Cowan in the third inning. Clemons earned her first career save in the contest.
Taylor Moon suffered the loss giving up three runs to the Redhawks through 5.1 innings of work.
Southeast returns to OVC action Sunday against Tennessee State in a noon doubleheader.
