2015 OVC Championship Bracket (PDF)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Junior Kylie Bennett drilled a walk-off RBI double to plate senior Hannah Cole, as Eastern Illinois softball stunned Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion SIU Edwardsville in a 1-0, ten-inning Sunday (May 3) afternoon marathon win at Williams Field.  The contest marked the regular-season finale for both league rivals.

The win improves the Panthers to 20-25 overall as Eastern finished the league slate at 14-11, placing them as the #6-Seed in the upcoming league tourney this week.  Meanwhile, the visiting Cougars of SIUE drop to 39-14 and 20-6, respectively, yet they previously earned the regular-season title with yesterday's first game win over the Panthers, but will soon host the four-day event having dropped their last two games of the season.

With the 2-1 win advantage, EIU earned the regular-season series over the Cougars for the first time since the 2011 campaign.

The first nine innings of the contest turned into a pitching duel between EIU freshman Jessica Wireman and SIUE standout Haley Chambers, as neither squad was able to push a run over home plate.

The visitors threatened first in the top of the fourth inning, as the Cougars would eventually earn a two-out bases-loaded situation, but Wireman would force a SIUE strikeout to strand all three base runners.

EIU then had a prime opportunity to take the lead in their half of the fourth as junior April Markowski drilled her first triple of the season, and third all-time, down the right field line with zero outs.  Unfortunately SIUE would force a pair of ground outs and strikeout to get out of the jam.

SIUE again stranded runners in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, as did the Panthers in their half of the seventh and ninth.

The Cougars once again enjoyed a bases-loaded scenario in the top of the tenth frame off a pair of two-out singles and a hit-by-pitch, but a pop-up would once again ruin SIUE's chance to score.

In the bottom of the tenth, senior Hannah Cole ripped a walk-up double down the left field line, which then allowed Bennett to deliver her game-winning heroics with her own double in the left center field gap to earn EIU the thrilling walk-off victory over their instate league rivals.

For the game, SIUE's Chambers fanned 13 Panther batters, yet allowed five EIU hits, with two coming via a double, in addition to a triple, as she dropped her individual mark to 22-6 on the year.  The Cougars would tally seven total hits, with all but one down as a single.

Wireman improved to 11-12 in her first season in a Panther uniform as she finished with six strikeouts, a pair of walks and earned her fourth shutout of the year.

Prior to the game EIU honored four seniors on the SIUE squad making their final trip to Charleston, while also highlighting a pair of Panther standouts -- Hannah Cole and Bailey O'Dell -- for their outstanding four-year careers, which includes numerous Top 25 all-time marks in the Eastern record book.

Following Sunday's action, the complete OVC championship field has now been set, as EIU will open up Wednesday (May 6) action versus #3-Murray State at 10 a.m. at SIUE's Cougar Field in Edwardsville.

#2-Jacksonville State and #7-Southeast Missouri will follow at 12:30 p.m., #4-Tennessee Tech and #5-Eastern Kentucky will do battle at 3 p.m., and the host and top seed SIU Edwardsville squad will finish the opening day action versus #8-Morehead State at 5:30 p.m.

Complete bracket of the upcoming event is available via the link above.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID