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Austin Peay State University Athletics

Mel Pavel
Brittney Sparn, APSU Athletics
8
Winner Austin Peay APSU 2-1
6
Western Kentucky WKU 3-2
Winner
Austin Peay APSU
2-1
8
Final
6
Western Kentucky WKU
3-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Austin Peay APSU 2 1 2 1 1 1 0 8 14 0
Western Kentucky WKU 3 0 0 1 2 0 0 6 8 1

W: Hanners, Autumn (1-1) L: JERNIGAN, Kelsey (1-1)

Game Recap: Softball | | By Chris Austin

Lady Govs softball outlast Hilltoppers for 8-6 victory

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Austin Peay State University's softball team saw Autumn Hanners come out of the bullpen to record the final nine outs without permitting a run as the Lady Govs held off Western Kentucky for an 8-6 victory, Friday, in the opening day of the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic, being played at the WKU Softball Complex.

The Lady Govs (2-1) saw their lead cut to one run, 7-6, in the bottom of the fifth inning with Western Kentucky (3-2) scoring two runs and loading the bases with no outs.

That brought in Hanners (1-1) to relieve Natalie Ayala. She induced the first batter she faced to hit into a 1-2-3 double play, followed by the next batter hitting sinking line drive into right field that Kacy Acree made a shoestring catch to end the inning and preserve the one-run lead.

"(Autumn) Hanners came in and locked it down," Austin Peay head coach Shane Showalter said. "But our group in general never panicked. They made the plays on defense and got out of the inning.

"I also can't say enough about how well the team is hitting right now. We're not only getting runners on base, but we're getting them in too."

Austin Peay added an insurance run in the top of the sixth on an RBI double by Rikki Arkansas, which turned out to be more than enough as Hanners got the final six outs to seal the victory.

The Lady Govs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run single by Sidney Hooper, before WKU responded with three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to take its only lead of the game.

Austin Peay tied the game in the second inning on an RBI single by Danielle Liermann before taking the lead for good in the third, 5-3, on back-to-back RBI singles from Mel Pavel and Kendell Vedder.

Liermann, Pavel, Vedder, Arkansas and Acree all finished the game with two hits each as Austin Peay pounded out 14 hits against four WKU pitchers.

Both teams scored a run in the fourth inning, with Vedder driving in the run for Austin Peay, while Christiana Gable produced a run in the top of the sixth on an infield grounder to extend its lead to 7-4.

Austin Peay continues classic play, Saturday, as it has a rematch with Western Kentucky at 2:30 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. matchup versus Murray State.

--AP--

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