Allison Rager improved to 9-8 and threw 5.2 innings.
Posted: April 30, 2018 | Source: The Morehead News
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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Morehead State softball team recorded a doubleheader sweep of Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech by scores of 2-1 and 7-3 on Sunday afternoon at Tech Softball Field.
The victories moved the Eagles to 26-16 overall and 7-9 in the OVC. Tech falls to 16-31 overall and 7-13 in conference play. The sweep also leaps Morehead State over the Golden Eagles for the eighth spot in the conference standings, which is important as the season begins to wind down as the top eight teams make the OVC postseason tournament.
The game-two win also marked the 100th win for the Eagles’ senior class which was honored last Sunday at University Field prior to games against UT Martin.
MOREHEAD STATE 2, TENNESSEE TECH 1
Senior left-handed ace Chelsea McManaway came away victorious in a pitcher’s duel against Tennessee Tech’s Taylor Waldrop in the day’s first game. McManaway stifled the Golden Eagles in the batter’s box in the complete-game win as she struck out 12 batters and only gave up four hits and one walk.
The Eagle bats gave McManaway the lead before she threw her first pitch though by taking advantage of a pair of Tech mistakes in the top half of the first inning. Senior leadoff hitter Taylor Wheeler was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then stole third base before senior Robyn Leighton stepped to the plate and singled up the middle to drive her home and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Tennessee Tech tied it up in the third inning with an RBI double by freshman Sydney Love-Baker with two outs, but McManaway answered back with a strikeout to end the inning and strand Love-Baker on second.
In the sixth inning Morehead State regained the lead when senior Ellen Barrettknocked a one-out double off the right-center field fence, then was advanced to third on a single by senior Robyn Leighton and finally brought home when junior Allison Rager slapped the first pitch of her at-bat up the middle to score the go-ahead run. That proved to be all the Eagles needed.
Leighton and Wheeler both had 2-for-3 days with Leighton collecting the one RBI in the first. Senior Kylie Holton, Barrett, and Rager each had one hit apiece, giving Morehead State seven total in the contest. Barrett’s lone hit was the double that led to the go-ahead run and Rager’s only hit going as the clutch single that drove that run in.
The win improved McManaway to 16-7 and marked her 13thgame this season with double-digit strikeouts. The Golden Eagles’ right-hander Waldrop was hung with the complete-game loss, making her 10-11 for the year.
MOREHEAD STATE 7, TENNESSEE TECH 3
Despite falling behind 2-0 after the first inning, Morehead State rallied and exploded offensively for seven runs on 10 hits to finish off the two-game sweep of the Golden Eagles.
Sophomore outfielder Allison Davis picked up her first and second RBI of the season in the second inning when she drove home Rager and senior Lindsay Wardto tie the game up at 2-2. In the third frame, the Eagles took the lead for good on a sacrifice fly RBI by Leighton to take the 3-2 advantage.
Several miscues by Tennessee Tech in the fourth helped Morehead State add two more runs to its lead. Freshman Kalle Coleman, in a pinch-hitting role, singled up the middle and then advanced to second on a passed ball during senior Hannah Murphy’s second at-bat of the game. Murphy peppered an infield single to advance Coleman to third and then attempted to steal second, which led to the TTU catcher sailing the throw-out attempt into center field bringing Coleman across for the score. Another error by the home squad during senior Lindsay Ward’s trip to the plate moved Murphy to third before junior Aubrey Bennett singled her home with a two-out poke.
Tech added a run in the sixth to make it 5-3 heading into the final frame, but McManaway entered and recorded the final out of the inning to halt the home team’s comeback bid.
Morehead State polished off the game in the seventh by adding two more runs to its lead. An RBI double by Rager scored Barrett, who led off the inning with a single and then Rager, who advanced to third on the throw to the plate on the double, scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to extend the Eagles’ lead to 7-3.
Rager, who also was awarded the victory in the pitcher’s circle, finished the game 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, one RBI, and two runs scored. Barrett was 2-for-4 with two singles while Bennett, Leighton, Coleman, Murphy, and Davis all finished with one hit. Bennett and Leighton accounted for the other RBI, while Davis plated two runners with her second-inning single.
In the circle, Rager improved to 9-8 and threw 5.2 innings, giving up just one earned run on six hits. McManaway picked up her second save of the season after entering the game in the sixth and getting the final four outs of the game. Sophomore Kayla Hughes was the losing pitcher for TTU in the contest and fell to 5-11 for the season.
NEXT UP
Morehead State plays its final home games on Tuesday against in-state OVC foe Murray State. The Racers are 15-33 and most recently split games with SIUE at home on Sunday. The games will get underway at 1 p.m. at University Field.
