OXFORD, Ala. – The No. 1 seeded Eastern Kentucky University softball team suffered a 3-2 loss to No. 4 seed Florida Gulf Coast in 10 innings to open the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament on Thursday night at Choccolocco Park.
 
With the loss, EKU (40-9, 21-3 ASUN) moves to the consolation bracket and needs to win its next five games in the tournament to hoist the ASUN Tournament trophy.
 
EKU's Vianna Barron and 2024 ASUN Player of the Year Jeanay Riley went 2-for-5 on the day, leading the Colonels in the offensive category.
 
Barron tied the contest at two in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Elk Grove, California native sent a single up the middle that scored Riley and Maggie Pertee.
 
The top-seeded Colonels used two pitchers on Thursday night, opting with freshman ASUN Pitcher of the Year Maddi Rutan who went 4.0 innings with two strikeouts.  Junior Lauren Narvaez (3-2) went 6.0 innings in relief only allowing one hit against 19 batters faced, suffering the loss as the Eagles brought home a runner in the top of the 10th inning.
 
EKU went down in order in the bottom-half of the final inning to end the game on the wrong end of a 3-2 score.
 
Just over an hour after the conclusion of the Colonels' opening game, EKU's subsequent consolation game that was re-scheduled for 11:15 p.m. EST against No. 7 seed Queens on Thursday night resulted in a postponed due to lightning in the nearby area.
 
Next Up
EKU returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST against the No. 7 seeded Royals in the consolation bracket. The game is still scheduled to be aired live on ESPN+ starting five minutes before first pitch.