Tweet #WinTheMoment

Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois softball picked up a pair of 6-1 wins on Sunday to sweep their weekend series with Western Illinois as both games on Sunday finished with the identical mark.
 
EIU won its seventh straight OVC game improving to 22-9 overall, 8-1 in the OVC.  Western Illinois fell to 12-19 overall, 2-7 in the OVC.
 
GAME ONE
Western Illinois jumped on top 1-0 in the first inning in game one of Sunday's double header as the Leathernecks took advantage of an early Eastern Illinois error.   The Panthers would use a WIU error to take the lead before going on to win 6-1.
 
Valerie Combs reached base to lead off the game on an error and came around to score on a RBI single by Bella Alvarez.
 
EIU took advantage of a WIU error in the second inning resulting in a two run single by Kendall Grover that gave the Panthers the lead.
 
That offense would be all Olivia Price needed to finish with a complete game win improving to 6-6 on the season.  Price struck out three and allowed just six hits. 
 
EIU provided Price a cushion in the third on two-run homer by Briana Gonzalez and RBI in the fifth by McKenzie Oslanzi and Mia Mazzola.
 
Gonzalez was 3-for-3 in the game while Oslanzi had two hits.
 
Lillie Woods (3-7) took the loss pitching five innings.  Rylee Boone went 2-for-3 to lead WIU.
 
GAME TWO
In the second game EIU scored four runs in the third inning as they finished the weekend sweep with a 6-1 win.
 
McKenzie Oslanzi (13-2) pitched five innings allowing one unearned run and scattering two hits with seven strike outs.  Karlie McKenzie pitched a hitless final two innings with three strike outs.
 
The four-run third was led by a Rachel Kaufman RBI double then followed by two-run single by Jadin Justman and RBI single by Sophie Cerveny.
 
WIU broke through in their half of the fifth with an RBI single by Abrianna Gracia that scored Gabriela Drager. 
 
EIU drove in two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame to go up 6-1.  Briana Gonzalez had a bases loaded walk while Oslanzi helped herself with a sacrifice fly.
 
Emily Price (5-9) suffered the loss as Malia Robertson was the only other Leatherneck with a hit with a double in the fourth.
 
Kaufman, Justman and Cerveny all had two hits to lead EIU.