EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Eastern Illinois softball ended the 2015 campaign on Friday (May 8), falling to Ohio Valley Conference Championship host, and #1-Seed, SIU Edwardsville in a 10-2, five-inning contest to open loser's bracket action at Cougar Field in Edwardsville this morning.

The Panthers end the season with an overall 21-27 record, after advancing to the end-of-season league championship for the eighth straight season.

The Cougars (41-15) will continue loser's bracket action later today when they will face the winner of #2-Jacksonville State/#5-Eastern Kentucky.

Outfielder April Markowski led all Panthers with a 2-for-3 plate performance, as the First Team All-OVC honoree drilled her sixth home run of the season late in the game.  The junior will also represent all Panthers on the OVC All-Tournament squad following her fine play this week.

Junior centerfield Haylee Beck added the other EIU hit, as Jessica Wireman was tagged for the loss, dropping to 11-14 in her first season as a Panther.

The host Cougars, as the visitors on the scoreboard, got their offense going early in the top of the opening frame.  SIUE plated four runs off a three hits, including a double, off EIU freshman starter Wireman, who earned OVC All-Newcomer honors earlier this week at awards banquet.

In EIU's half of the first inning, Markowski nailed a double to right center and advanced to third as junior outfielder Jennette Isaac moved to second after walking, but the Panthers would fail to get a run across, stranding both.

SIUE would erupt for three additional runs in the top of the second to pull ahead of EIU, 7-0, with the first score coming via an RBI double followed by a two-run homer which bounced off the scoreboard outside the right centerfield fence.

The Cougars again plated runs in the top of the third, scoring a pair off a couple of Panther miscues to take a 9-0 lead, yet EIU would get out of the inning with a double-play defensively.

Another homer from SIUE senior Alex McDavid in the fourth would extend the SIUE lead to 10-0.

But EIU would avoid the shutout in the bottom of the fifth as junior Haylee Beck first reached base via a bloop hit before Markowski drilled a two-run bomb past the centerfield fence to pull EIU to within 10-2 of the Cougars, with two out.  But a lineout would end the Panther run and the season.

The Panthers lose a pair of standout seniors – Hannah Cole and Bailey O'Dell – to graduation, yet have 14 returning letter winners, including a pair of All-OVC honorees, set to come back for the 2016 campaign

2015 OVC Softball All-Tournament Team 
Danielle Liberatore, Tennessee Tech (MVP)
Olivia Bennett, Tennessee Tech
Hannah Eldridge, Tennessee Tech
Alyssa Richards, Tennessee Tech
Haley Chambers, SIUE
Alex McDavid, SIUE
Allison Smiley, SIUE
Maggie Glass, Murray State
Mo Ramsey, Murray State
Savannah Sloan, Jacksonville State
Paige Murphy, Eastern Kentucky
April Markowski, Eastern Illinois

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