AUBURN, Ala. – Eastern Illinois softball ended Auburn Tiger Invitational action on Sunday (Feb. 15) with a 4-3 loss to Ball State. The tough defeat drops the Panthers to 3-7 overall in the early-season.
After the designated home squad Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead in the first, the Panthers posted three runs in the top of the fifth as senior
Hannah Cole drilled a two-run RBI double to left field to plate juniors
Jennette Isaac and
Haylee Beck. Fellow senior
Bailey O'Dell then scampered for home off a failed pick-off attempt by BSU to pull EIU ahead, 3-1.
Unfortunately,BSU countered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the same frame, with two scores coming via an untimely Panther error, followed by an RBI single for the eventual game-winner.
O'Dell led all Panthers with a 2-for-4 plate performance, while Cole, Beck and junior
April Markowski each collected respective doubles.
Freshman pitcher
Michelle Rogers was tabbed for the loss to move to 3-2 overall in the circle, while her counterpart on the BSU side fanned nine Panther strikeouts. Both squads finished with six hits apiece and combined for five errors.
Eastern returns to early-season tournament play next weekend (Feb. 20-22), traveling to Bowling Green, Ky., for a three-day Western Kentucky Hilltopper Spring Fling. The Panthers are scheduled to take on IUPUI twice, in addition to games against Ohio, Saint Louis and the host WKU squad.
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
