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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois softball was held in check in the first six innings on Friday afternoon before finding some late momentum with its offense to pick up a doubleheader split at Tennessee Tech.
 
TTU won the opener 6-4 before EIU responded with a 10-4 win the second game.  The final game of the weekend series is Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
 
EIU improved to 15-7 overall, 8-3 in the OVC.  TTU is now 13-12 overall, 7-4 in the OVC.
 
In the opener TTU starting pitcher Alyssa Arden (7-6) scattered four hits allowing just one earned run to pick up the win.  
 
The Golden Eagles scored in each of the first five innings with single runs in the first through fourth frames.  Nicolle Nysted, Mackenzie Fitzgerald, Carmen Betts and Beth McCulley all drove home runs for TTU.  Fitzgerald would drive home her second run of the game in the Golden Eagles two-run fifth inning that staked TTU to a 6-1 lead.
 
In the seventh, EIU's bats started to wake up as they scored three runs to close out the game.  Megan Burton connected for a two-run home run in the inning, the first of two blasts she would hit on the day.  Burton now has ten home runs on the season.   She was 2-for-4 in the opener. 
 
Three TTU players had two hits as the Golden Eagles had 12 total hits scoring three earned runs against EIU starter Jade Montgomery (6-5).
 
In the second game of the day Arden again started in the circle for Tennessee Tech but this time EIU attacked from the start chasing the pitcher from the game after two innings. 
 
EIU scored two runs in the first and added another two in the third to jump out to a 5-1 lead.  Burton hit her second home run of the game in the first inning while Haley Mitchell hit a two run homer in the third.
 
The Panthers added solo home runs to lead off the second and fourth inning with Mia Davis and Amber Cieplinski adding to the damage. 
 
Leading 7-4 heading into the seventh inning, EIU tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh.  Mitchell drove home a run in the inning as the other two EIU runs scored on errors. 
 
Olivia Price pitched five innings to improve to 5-2 on the season. 
 
Mitchell and Burton both had two hits in the second game to lead EIU as Burton was 4-for-7 with four RBI and five runs scored on the day.  EIU had ten stolen bases in the second game and 15 for the day.
 
Sydney Love-Baker was 3-for-3 for Tennessee Tech in the second game driving in a run in the second and fifth innings.