OXFORD, Ala. – The Eastern Kentucky University softball team defeats 7-seed Queens, 9-0, and 3-seed Central Arkansas, 9-3, to advance in the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament on Friday at Choccolocco Park.
With the wins, EKU (42-9, 21-3 ASUN) advances to face 2-seed North Florida tomorrow afternoon. The winner will move on to face 4-seed Florida Gulf Coast in the championship game.
ASUN Pitcher and Freshman of the Year
Maddi Rutan picked up two wins on the day to move to 25-4 from the circle on the season. Her two wins ties EKU Hall of Famer Jonelle Csora's single season program record 25 wins set during the 2002 Ohio Valley Conference championship season.
Offensively, the Colonels tallied 23 hits and 18 runs on the day led by ASUN Player of the Year,
Jeanay Riley, who went 6-for-6 with three doubles, one triple, three runs, and two RBIs. Rutan went 4-for-6 overall with two RBIs.
In game two against UCA, EKU belted back-to-back home runs in the second inning by
Kennedy Drafton and
Vianna Barron. Both no-doubt shots were featured across NCAA Softball official social media channels.
Game One: EKU 9, Queens 0
The Colonels opened their scoring barrage in the bottom of the first as
Jaelin Haynes,
Jasmine Miller, and
Maggie Pertee brought in runs.
A Rutan single to the left side scored Riley to push EKU's lead to 4-0. Creating impact on both sides of the field, she ended the contest with two hits while striking out five batters.
Just one inning later, EKU doubled its runs off singles from
Makayla Mathis,
Madison Scott, and doubles from Riley and Drafton.
Rutan was pulled from the game tossing 3.0 scoreless innings only allowing one hit with five strikeouts. In relief,
Tayteum Vigansky went 2.0 innings with one strikeout.
EKU held on to its 9-0 result that invoked the 8-run mercy-rule after five innings.
Game Two: EKU 9, Central Arkansas 3
In the second game of the day, Central Arkansas tallied a run in its first at-bat off a single up the middle. The Colonels countered in the home half as Haynes sent a high-bouncing grounder over the Sugar Bears' third baseman to advance Riley home.
In the bottom of the second, EKU claimed a 4-1 lead off back-to-back homers from Drafton and Barron. The Colonels are the only team in the tournament field to hit consecutive home runs.
With its offensive explosion, EKU pushed its lead to 7-1 in the third inning as Barron and Rutan drove in runs off singles to right field.
Despite the large Central Arkansas deficit, the Sugar Bears notched a single run off a sacrifice-fly to deep center from First Team All-ASUN member Tremere Harris, narrowing the score to 7-2.
EKU plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth off hustle plays from Mathis and Scott, extending a 9-2 advantage. Rutan (25-4) ended her record-breaking day in the sixth going 6.0 innings with four K's, bringing her total to nine in Friday's wins.
Central Arkansas scored one run in the seventh inning but was unable to overcome a 6-run shortage to end game two in a 9-3 Colonel win.
Next Up
The top-seeded Colonels look to emerge from the consolation bracket tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST against 2-seed North Florida.
With a victory, EKU would advance to the ASUN Championship to face 4-seed FGCU in the finals. The Colonels would need to win two games over the Eagles to hoist the tournament trophy.
Fans looking to make the trip to Oxford can still find tickets on GoFan.com online
here. Those not able to be in attendance can find the remainder of the event streamed live on ESPN+.
