Click here for photos from the Senior Day Ceremony!

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky kept its postseason hopes alive with a 5-1 victory in the first game of an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader against Austin Peay on Saturday, but the Colonels were eliminated from contention after losing the second game 5-4 in extra innings.

EKU senior Jena Handley was honored in a pregame ceremony.

Eastern (14-34, 8-14 OVC) jumped out in front in the third inning of the first game. With two runners on, Cassi Gibson doubled to center to put the Colonels in front 2-0. Raquel Howes followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

Austin Peay (16-34, 8-13 OVC) got on the board in the top of the fifth when Tiffany Smith led off the inning with a home run down the left field line.

Handley celebrated Senior Day with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead back to three. She later scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-1 in favor of the home team. Handley finished the first half of her Senior Day 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Gibson went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.

Freshman Kristin Perry (7-13) allowed only one run on five hits over six innings. She struck out seven batters. Junior Stacye Toups came on in relief in the seventh and retired the side in order.

Smith finished with a pair of hits for APSU.

A Lady Gov error in the bottom of the first inning of the second game allowed Howes to score the first run of the game and stake EKU to an early lead. A two-run single by Gibson in the bottom of the second extended the Colonel advantage to 3-0.

APSU grabbed the lead in the fourth. Shine Huwe’s two-out RBI single to right scored Shelby Norton to cut the deficit to 3-1. An illegal pitch allowed another run to score. Meagan Williams followed with an RBI single down the right field line to tie the game. The Lady Govs took the lead on another illegal pitch that allowed Smith to score from third.

Handley answered for the Colonels in the bottom of the inning. The senior launched a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence to tie the game. The round-tripper was her first of the season.

The game remained tied heading into the final inning. Austin Peay got the go-ahead run on first with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Perry got a strikeout to end the threat.

A two-out RBI single by Smith in the top of the eighth scored Detra Farley from third to give the Lady Govs the lead. Smith finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Farley scored two runs.

The Colonels got the tying run on first base with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t complete the rally. Diane Gallagher and Christina Datko each had two hits for EKU.

The Colonels and Lady Govs will conclude their three-game series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.