OXFORD, Ohio – The Eastern Kentucky University softball team has its 10-game win streak snapped on the road against nationally-ranked Miami (Ohio) by a score of 11-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Miami Softball Stadium.
EKU suffered its first loss since March 30 to move to 36-6 on the season. Miami was ranked No. 25 in the country according to Softball America and sits at No. 43 in the latest NCAA RPI poll.
The Colonels were led by
Jaelin Haynes who went 2-for-3 from the plate with one RBI and one stolen base. Fellow outfielder
Jeanay Riley went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in the top of the fifth. The long ball was the 15th of her career.
Maddi Rutan (21-3) earned the loss for the first time since Feb. 25, throwing 3.0 innings of work with one strikeout and five hits, the Columbus, Indiana native won 16 straight games in the circle before today's contest.
EKU (36-6, 17-1 ASUN) scored the first run of the game in the top of the first as Haynes brought in
Maggie Pertee off a deep grounder to second base.
Innings two through four were all Miami, who scored 11 unanswered runs off two home runs, two doubles, and three singles. Miami's Karli Spaid tallied two home runs to pass Oklahoma legend Lauren Chamberlain in career home runs at 96, sitting second in NCAA history.
In the win, Miami (37-7, 18-1 MAC) improved its nation-leading home run total to 133 on the season. Two RedHawks, including Spaid, have 25 or more home runs on the season. Spaid leads DI softball with 29 home runs this year.
Despite the lopsided score, the Colonels continued to fight scoring two runs in the top of the fifth off a Riley solo home run and
Lilly Davis single to left, cutting the deficit to eight. The output was not enough to stop the 8-run mercy rule after five, ending the contest 11-3 in Miami's favor.
Next Up
EKU returns to action on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida facing North Florida on the road, the start of a three-game series. The Colonels need four wins of its last six conference games to secure the outright Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2018. Saturday's games in Duval County can be found on ESPN+.
