BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Not much went right for Austin Peay State University's softball team, Saturday, in Day 2 of the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic, with the Lady Govs dropping a 5-0 final to Western Kentucky and a 10-5 result to Murray State.

Saturday's results also will be the final ones this weekend for the Lady Govs, with Western Kentucky cancelling Sunday's slate of games, including APSU's contest versus Missouri State, with the threat of rain moving in during the night and into the morning.

Offense, which has been one of the Lady Govs (2-3) strong points so far this young season, was the culprit in their opening game versus Western Kentucky, as Austin Peay was held to just three hits in getting shutout for the first time this season. Chandler Groves had two of those hits, both singles, while Autumn Hanners (double) had the other Lady Govs hit.

Western Kentucky (5-3) scored all the runs needed in the bottom of the first, tallying a run on an infield out, before adding two runs in the fourth and sixth innings on a pair of two-run homers.

In the nightcap versus Murray State (4-2), defense let to the Lady Govs' undoing, with Austin Peay committing six errors that led to six unearned runs for the Racers.

In fact, Austin Peay trailed 7-0 after two innings and 8-0 after four innings of play, while recording only three hits during that span.

But the Lady Govs took advantage of wildness from Racers relief pitcher J.J. Francis to jumpstart their offense to score four runs in the top of the fifth inning, cutting in half the Murray State lead.

Kendall Vedder and Christiana Gable drew walks to open the inning and, after an infield out move the pair to second and third, the Lady Govs scored their first run on a Groves RBI siingle.

Francis got the inning's second out on a ground ball, but Hanners followed with a RBI single before Sidney Hooper drove in two more with a single, making it 8-4. Groves and Hooper finished the game with two hits each.

Austin Peay gave back those two runs in the bottom of the inning, committing two errors, to make it 10-4 deficit.

The Lady Govs scored its final run in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of Murray State's only two errors of the game, with Vedder scoring on a wild pitch for the 10-5 final margin.

Austin Peay returns to action next weekend, when they travel to Troy, Ala., to play in the Trojan Warrior Tournament.

--AP--