CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's softball team scored 19 runs, while pounding out 25 hits versus Belmont, Sunday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, as the Governors took the final two games to sweep their three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, by 11-3 and 8-0 finals.
The Govs will return to action next weekend, as they travel to Cookeville, Tennessee to face Tennessee Tech in a three-game OVC series.
Game 1 (completion of Saturday's suspended game)
Austin Peay 11, Belmont 3
The first game Sunday was the completion of the suspended Game 2 from Saturday, and the Govs (13-8, 8-6 OVC) got rolling quickly, sending up 13 hitters to the plate in their first at bat of the day, scoring nine runs, to break open a 1-1 tie.
Back-to-back-to-back one-out doubles from Alyssa Archuleta, Kelsey Gray and Bailey Shorter got things going for Austin Peay, followed by a Belmont (8-15, 4-10 OVC) error that allowed a run, then five straight singles from Lexi Osowski, Kelsey Gross, Brett Jackson, Emily Harkleroad and Drew Dudley to break the game open, 7-1.
The Govs would score three more runs before the inning was done, coming on a sacrifice fly by Archuleta and a two-run single by Gray to make it 10-1.
Belmont would score their two final runs of the game in the fourth inning, to make it 10-3, before the Govs closed out the game under the eight-run rule in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Jackson that scored Kendyl Weinzapfel.
Harley Mullins (4-5) got the win, going the first four innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out five, before Gross came in to throw one shutout inning in relief.
Game 2
Austin Peay 8, Belmont 0
The nightcap would see the Govs breakout on top in the second inning on Archuleta's first collegiate home run over the right field fence that also drove in Dudley -- who had reached on an error in front of her -- for a 2-0 APSU lead.
That would be more than enough for Govs starter Jordan Benefiel (5-2) would need, as she shutout the Bruins on three hits for the second straight day, while walking one and striking out five.
Austin Peay would add a run in the third, on a sacrifice fly by Osowski, before ending the game by scoring five runs in what turned out to be their final at bat of the day, including a sacrifice fly by Jackson, a run-scoring triple by Harkleroad and a two-run homer by Dudley.
Inside the Boxscore
- Junior Lexi Osowski became the 37th player in APSU history to record 100 career hits, whit her fifth-inning single in Sunday's second game.
- Freshman Jordan Benefiel lowered her OVC leading opponent's batting average against to .172 this season.
- Senior Drew Dudley extended her season-long hit streak to nine games, tying Brooke Pfefferle for the longest such streak by a Govs players this year.
- The back-to-back shutouts by Jordan Benefiel are the first by an APSU pitcher since Morgan Rackel turned the trick versus Jackson State and McNeese back on Feb. 17-22, 2019.
- The nine-run second inning in Sunday's first game was the first nine-run inning for the Govs since hey scored nine runs in the fifth inning versus Southeast Missouri on April 3, 2010.
- The Govs only had one strikeout in 77 at bats versus Belmont during the series.
- Austin Peay has won their last nine games versus Belmont.
- The 15 hits in Sunday's first game were the most by the Govs in a game since they recorded 16 hits versus IUPUI on March 1, 2020.
- The 11 runs scored in Sunday's first game was the Govs first double-figure scoring game of the year.
