CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - For the second time in as many games, the Austin Peay softball team pulled out a win in extra innings, defeating Southeast Missouri 4-3 - in eight innings - in Game 1 of their Ohio Valley Conference series Friday night, but couldn't keep the magic going in the nightcap, falling 12-5.

Austin Peay (7-23, 2-7 OVC) redshirt freshman Shelby Norton's pinch-hit sacrifice fly to deep center field scored sophomore Amy Mills,  who opened the bottom of the eighth inning with a single and moved into scoring position as freshman Shine Huwe reached base on an error and sophomore Catie Cozart walked to load the bases with no outs.

In the opener, Southeast Missouri (11-19, 2-7 OVC) broke out on top in the second inning, scoring two runs after two were out, with Jennifer Vasquez getting things started by doubling to left field and scoring on an RBI single to right by Elise Sperakos.

Sperakos then scored when HaLeigh Willis singled to left field and came around when the ball got past left fielder Tia Johnson.

The Redhawks added an unearned run, aided by a walk and two Lady Govs errors, in the top of the fourth to go up 3-0 when Vasquez scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Willis.

Austin Peay finally got its offense going in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a double to center field by junior Randal Davenport, who advanced to third on a throwing error by SEMO shortstop Renee Kertz.

Davenport scored on a bad-hop groundball single to short off the bat of freshman Jessica Chernak to make it 3-1 SEMO.

Austin Peay loaded the bases in between the Redhawks gaining the inning's first two outs, with Mills being hit by a pitch and senior Brittany Williams reaching on Southeast Missouri pitcher Stefanie Barnes' error.

That brought up Cozart, who had Austin Peay's game-winning hit in Tuesday's extra-inning win at Tennessee State. She ripped a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Chernak and Mills to tie the game 3-3.

In Game 2, Southeast Missouri took advantage of Austin Peay errors from the outset, as the Lady Govs committed back-to-back errors on the first two SEMO hitters of the contest. They were followed by RBI singles from Alex Ramirez and Renee Kertz, along with Vasquez' sacrifice fly.

Southeast Missouri added two more runs in the second following an APSU error to go up 5-0 before the Lady Govs would get on the board in the bottom of the inning scoring once on freshman Jordan Cole's RBI single, scoring Williams, who opened the inning with a triple.

The two teams traded runs in the third, with SEMO's Elise Sperakos driving in Carmen Fowler, while APSU's Chernak drove in Huwe.

Austin Peay would cut the SEMO lead to two runs in the fourth, 6-4, on junior Tiffany Smith's first home run of 2010, but that would be as close as the Lady Govs would get.

The Redhawks scored two runs in the fifth, again using an Austin Peay error. and four more times in the seventh, with the inning's big blast a Vasquez three-run home run.

The Lady Govs added one final run in the bottom of the seventh on Smith's sacrifice fly for the 12-5 final.

The two teams conclude their OVC series 1 p.m., Saturday at Lady Govs Field with a single game.

--AP--