Eastern Illinois softball opened Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday splitting a pair of games at defending OVC regular season champion Southeast Missouri.
In the opener, EIU – last year's OVC Tournament Champion, snapped a 30-game home win streak by SEMO beating the Redhawks 7-4 in 12 innings. SEMO won the nightcap 9-4.
GAME ONE
It took the span of nearly two regulation games but Eastern Illinois pushed across four runs in the 12th inning to pick up a 7-4 win over Southeast Missouri.
McKenzie Oslanzi (8-1) went the distance in the circle allowing just two earned runs including one in the bottom of the 12th with EIU ahead four runs.
In the 12th Oslanzi led off the inning with a walk. She would break a longstanding 3-3 tie scoring on a bases loaded walk by
Avary Makarewicz.
Kendall Grover drove in what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly followed by a two-run single by
Rachel Kaufman.
SEMO added one run in the 12th on a two-out RBI single by Brooklyn Saysoff, one of three hits she had in game one. Aubrie Shore also had three hits in the opener for SEMO.
Oslanzi had pitched out of three different scoring situations by the Redhawks in extra innings as she finished with seven strikeouts scattering nine hits over the 12 innings.
The Redhawks opened the game with two unearned runs in the first and went up 3-1 in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Gracie Luna.
EIU scored in the third with an unearned run of its own. The Panthers tied the game in the top of the fourth scoring on a two-run homer by Grover who was 3-for-6 in the game.
Karson Davey also had three hits for EIU going 3-for-5.
SEMO had two pitchers split time in the circle with Maddie Carney (0-3) taking the loss with 6.2 innings in relief.
GAME TWO
Eastern Illinois scored two runs in the top of the first. Southeast Missouri responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning as the Redhawks split the doubleheader with a 9-4 win.
Briana Gonzalez started EIU's scoring with a two-run homer in the first. Gonzalez had one of the five hits issued by SEMO pitchers in the game.
The Redhawks responded in the bottom of the frame with four runs against
Olivia Price (4-6). Kat Sackett started the scoring with an RBI double. Sophie Schupp added a two-run double later in the inning to cap the scoring.
EIU closed the gap to one run in the third on an RBI single by
McKenzie Oslanzi.
Aryn Henke had an RBI double in the sixth driving in the Panthers final run.
SEMO scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth for starter Tegan Livesay (1-3). Brittany Affolter had a two-run single as part of the inning.
SEMO is now 5-15 overall, 1-1 in the OVC. EIU is 13-8 overall, 1-1 in the OVC.
