Game 1 Box (PDF) |  Game 2 Box (PDF)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eastern Illinois softball played Winthrop in the first game of today's play at the Samford Tournament. The Panthers took a 2-1 win over the Eagles. In the second game and the Panthers second time facing Samford they come back down 10-8 and win 16-11.
The Panthers improve to 3-1 on the season. They will be back in action tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., to face Winthrop for the second time this tournament.Â
Game 1
In the second inning, the Eagles took an early lead with a home run by Gilreath off of freshman pitcher Taylor Florea. The Panthers couldn't get much going until the 6th inning.
In the sixth inning, Adriana Sampson was able to cross the plate first for the Panthers off of an Eagle error. Later in the inning, Hannah Cravens scores for the Panthers off of another error by the Eagles.
The Panthers were able to hold on for the win as they give Florea her first win as a starting pitcher. Florea had four strikeouts on the game and one earned run. Kayla Bear, Haley Mitchell, Hannah Cravens, Kendyl McKeough, and Amber Cieplinski all had one hit to lead the panthers.
Game 2
Kayla Bear gets the Panthers started with a lead-off single in the first inning. Mia Davis gets a walk and then Haley Mitchell gets a single to load the bases early for the Panthers. Bear scores on a pop out fly by Cravens before the inning is over, making to score 1-0 Panthers. The Bulldogs tie up the game with a double from Roberson and an error from McKinlee Miller.
In the second inning, Jade Montgomery homers in her first at-bat in two years to put the Panthers on top of the Bulldogs 2-1. Samford comes right back and hits a home run to tie up the game and adds on two more to make it 4-2 Samford. McKeough makes a diving catch at first to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, the Bulldogs go on a run and score six runs to go up on the Panthers 10-2 heading into the top of the fifth. The Panthers come out swinging in the fifth to score three making the score 5-10. Hannah Kissel hits a bomb over the fence in center field to score three more runs to make the score 8-10. With Davis's first hit of the weekend, she smacks the ball over center field for a grand slam as the Panthers take the lead 13-10.
In the seventh inning, the Panthers picked up three more runs to extend their lead 16-11. Hannah Cravens strikes out two batters and freshman Zoey Clark ends the game with a catch out in left field as the Panthers win 16-11.
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