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Austin Peay State University Athletics

Niya Sparks
8
Winner Middle Tennessee MT 2-2
5
Austin Peay APSU 1-4
Winner
Middle Tennessee MT
2-2
8
Final
5
Austin Peay APSU
1-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Middle Tennessee MT 1 0 3 1 1 2 0 8 14 1
Austin Peay APSU 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 5 9 2

W: CHENEY, Kelci (2-2) L: Ayala, Natalie (1-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | By Chris Austin

Lady Govs come up short on final day at Bulldog Kickoff Classic

Starkville, Miss. – Austin Peay State University's softball team rallied twice from behind to tie Middle Tennessee, Sunday in the final day of the Mississippi State Bulldog Kickoff Classic, but its final rally came up a few hits short in a 8-5 loss.

The Lady Govs (1-4) were down three runs heading into their final at bat, but had two of its hottest hitters coming to the plate.

But Laurel Burroughs opened the inning with a pop-up to second base, followed by Christiana Gable grounding out to third.

But Niya Sparks ripped a shot up the middle for a single, followed by a walk to Chandler Groves, bringing up the potential tying in Savanna Oliver. She laced the ball down the third-base line, but Blue Raiders' third baseman Samantha Nieves speared the ball and out-raced Sparks to third for the force out to end the game.

Middle Tennessee (2-2) had taken its first lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Carlie Jenkins, but Gable tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame, scoring Morgan Hoeg, who led off the inning with a double down the left-field line.

The Blue Raiders regained the lead with three runs in the top of the third inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Megan Griffith.

Austin Peay answered right back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 4-4. Courtney Brower and Hoeg recorded back-to-back hits to open the inning--Hoeg led the Lady Govs with two hits - followed by walks to Burroughs and Gable to force in a run. Two outs later, Chandler singled into right to drive in the other two runs to tie the game 4-4.

But Middle Tennessee regained the lead for good in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI triple by Cor'Nisha Birdsong, with the Blue Raiders making it 6-4 in the fifth on a Austin Peay throwing error.

The Lady Govs cut the deficit to 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout by Sparks, but that would be as close as they would get with Middle Tennessee adding two more runs in the sixth on a Jenkins single to go up 8-5.

Natalie Ayala (1-2) took the loss for Austin Peay, despite striking out five and walking none.

Austin Peay is now off until Saturday when it opens the home part of the schedule with a noon doubleheader versus Miami (Ohio) at Cheryl Holt Field.

--AP--

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