Box Score (PDF)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Senior outfielder Kayla Joyce tallied five hits to lead the EKU softball team's offensive attack in Sunday's 10-3 rubber match win over Tennessee Tech to close the regular season.
 
Joyce finished the day going 5-for-5 from the plate with one RBI and one stolen base in the win.
 
EKU (35-15, 17-8 OVC) clinched the No. 3 seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama. The Colonels will square off again against the Golden Eagles in game one Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
 
EKU outscored TTU 17-10 over the three-game series this weekend.
 
This year's tournament will be the first conference tournament held at a neutral site.
 
EKU freshman right-hander Peyton Hutchens and junior Alex Sallberg allowed just three Tech runs on six hits in a solid joint effort.
 
After consecutive walks to leadoff the second inning, freshman Hannah Clark delivered an RBI double down the third base line to score fellow freshman Rachel Minogue. Later in the inning, with Clark and sophomore Paige Murphy both in scoring position for the Colonels, junior Amber Murray dropped a would be sacrifice bunt. However, a TTU error allowed for two EKU runs to score on the play as the Colonels took a 3-0 lead and allowed Murray aboard.
 
The Colonels built a 5-0 lead after a leadoff double from senior Sarah Fobbs to start the third. Minogue added a single to left, before Murphy's base clearing two-run double to left center that pushed the Colonels' lead to five.
 
TTU's (23-31, 14-13 OVC) Cortney Fry logged an RBI single in the bottom of fourth for the Golden Eagles' first run of the contest.
 
EKU's bats lit up again in the top of the seventh, as the Colonels added five runs to reach double digits for the sixth time this year. Sunday's win improved EKU's record to 6-0 on the season when scoring 10 or more runs.
 
The Colonels used four hits to add five runs in the inning to clinch the win. With the bases loaded, junior Kelly Wood and Murray both drew walks for an RBI, before junior Krislyn Campos' two-run double scored Wood and Clark. Joyce recorded an RBI single that scored Murphy, pushing the EKU lead to 10-1.
 
The Golden Eagles crossed the plate twice in the final inning on a two-run homer from Sarah Freels, but the Colonels' lead was too much.
 
Murphy and Mingoue each logged two hits in the win for the Colonels.