JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Eastern Kentucky’s softball team was one out away from splitting a doubleheader with conference leader Jacksonville State when Mary Beth Ledbetter hit a two-run home run to cap a four-run seventh inning and complete the sweep with a 6-5 game two win Saturday. The Gamecocks (22-9, 11-1 OVC) captured game one by a score of 11-7. The second place Colonels (19-13, 8-5 OVC) had a three run lead heading into the final inning of game two.
Ledbetter also hit a grand slam in the first game. In the two games combined, she went 3-for-6 with three runs and six RBIs.
The two teams battled back and forth in the first game. EKU loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning but could only score one run, off an Amber Lenz ground out. Jacksonville State took a 2-1 lead when a pair of runners scored on a Colonel error in the bottom of the first inning.
Eastern Kentucky tied it up in the top of the second but the Gamecocks answered in the bottom of the inning and went back in front by one when they scored off another EKU error.
Erin Luther’s three-run home run in the fourth inning sent the Colonels in front 5-3. It was her fifth homer of the season.
After Jacksonville State cut it to one in the fourth, Ledbetter hit a two-out grand slam in the fifth to send the Gamecocks back on top 8-5. Eastern Kentucky scored twice in the sixth, highlighted by an Adriel Foxley RBI single, to cut the deficit to one, but the Colonels wouldn’t get any closer. Nikki Prier’s two-run home run in the sixth ignited a three-run inning for JSU.
Luther finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored, three driven in and one walk for EKU. Ledbetter’s only hit of the game was her grand slam, she finished with two runs scored and four RBIs. Rachel Fleming went 2-for-3 and also scored twice.
Jenn Bledsoe (3-5) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs on six hits in three and two-thirds innings of relief work. Melissa Dowling (14-6) tossed five innings, allowed six runs on seven hits and struck out six on her way to earning the victory for JSU.
Eastern Kentucky got on the board first again in game two. Jena Handley led off the top of the second inning with her fifth home run of the season. Senior Chanze Patterson made it 2-0 with an RBI single later in the inning. Jacksonville State platted a pair of runs off another Colonel error in the bottom of the inning to tie the score.
In the top of the third, EKU took the lead again when Foxley scored on a JSU error. Handley’s two run double in the fifth extended the Eastern lead to 5-2.
The Gamecocks left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and left two on in the sixth. With two on and two outs in the seventh, it appeared Eastern Kentucky was going to dodge the bullet and close out the win. However, Jackie Jarman kept the inning alive with a double to center field that scored two runs to make it a 5-4 game. Ledbetter ended the game moments later when she drove a 2-2 pitch over the left-center field fence for a two-run homer.
Ledbetter finished 2-for-4 in game two with a run scored and two RBIs. Jarman went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two driven in.
Patterson finished 3-for-4 with a run scored for EKU. Foxley went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Handley was 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs.
Kalyn Fox (5-3) went the distance for the Colonels, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits and walking only two batters. Ashley Eliasson (6-2) benefited from the late inning heroics. She struck out seven while allowing eight hits and five runs in seven innings of work.
The Colonels and Gamecocks will conclude their series with a single game on Sunday beginning at 2 p.m.
