Tweet #LOYALandTRUE

NASHVILLE – Eastern Illinois softball Ohio Valley Conference win streak continued as the Panthers won their eighth straight to open this season and tenth straight dating back to the final weekend of the 2022 regular season.
 
On Sunday, EIU swept its second conference road series of the year with a 5-4 win at Tennessee State that moved EIU to 19-13 on the season, 8-0 in the league.  TSU fell to 14-18-1 overall, 5-6 in the OVC.
 
The Panthers broke open a 2-2 game with three runs in the top of the fifth.  Rachel Kaufman began the rally with an RBI single to left, it was one two RBI on the day for Kaufman.
 
Riley Dittmar would drive home a run with an infield single and later contributed to the third run as she was out during a double steal that allowed Kendall Grover to score the Panthers fifth run of the game.  Grover was 3-for-3 on the day, one of four Panthers with multiple hits.
 
The three runs proved to be vital as TSU threatened in the seventh with a two-out, two-run double by Peyton Fointno.  Alexa Rehmeier (5-3) would get the final out on a ground ball for the complete game win. 
 
Holly Ayala (4-6) took the loss in a complete game effort in the circle for TSU.
 
EIU scored its first two runs of the game in the first inning on an RBI single by Kaufman and RBI double by Grover.  
 
Fointno contributed to TSU's other two runs as well with an RBI single in the first and hit in the third that led to a run scoring later on the play on an EIU error.  She was 3-for-4, the only TSU player with multiple hits.
 
Kaufman, Lindy Milkowski and Avary Makarewicz all had two hits for the Panthers.