RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team returned home to Gertrude Hood Field for the first time in three weeks, splitting the series-opening doubleheader with Austin Peay, 1-4 and 11-3.

The Colonels (31-12, 12-4 ASUN) stay at 1.5 games ahead of APSU in the Gold Division with one game left in the series and seven left in regular season conference play.

GAME ONE – EKU 1, APSU 4 (8 inn.)
 
Maddi Rutan (14-7) completed her fourth extra innings start of the season. The two-way pitcher threw a full 8.0 innings and set a new career-high in strikeouts with 15 but was saddled with the loss when the Govs broke the stalemate in the eighth inning.
 
Both teams posted one-run innings in the opening frame before both pitchers turned in lights-out performances.
 
Kennedy Drafton posted the lone Colonel RBI of the game, skying a sacrifice fly to deep center field to score Jaelin Haynes.
 
The Colonel defense was airtight through the rest of regulation, recording four three-up, three-down innings, as well as a streak of 15 straight putouts.
 
Baserunners were plentiful for the Colonels but getting them home proved a struggle as the Colonels stranded 11 on base through the course of the game.
 
The Govs found the breakthrough in the top of the eighth. After two runners reached base on a leadoff hit and a Colonel fielding error, Macee Roberts hit a three-run homer to left center.
 
EKU found signs life in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases with just one out. However, the squad could not convert, dropping game one of the series.
 
GAME TWO – EKU 11, APSU 3 (5 inn.)
 
Victoria Byrum (11-2) grabbed the win for the Colonels in game two, pitching her fourth complete game of the season and striking out three batters.
 
Game two proved the opposite story of game one as the Colonels had little trouble getting runs across the plate.
 
The Colonels scored five runs in the first inning, putting the first three on the board before the ball even left the infield for the first time.
 
Drafton recorded her second game with an RBI, bringing Haynes home once again with a grounder to first base and reaching safely on an error after the Govs first baseman could not handle the hit.
 
With the bases loaded, Makayla Mathis was hit by the pitch and Jada McLeod drew a walk for two more runs. Taci Haase closed out the inning with a two RBI single through the left side – the first Colonel hit to find the outfield grass.
 
McLeod notched herself three more RBIs with one swing in the second inning, going yard for three runs by just getting the ball over the left field wall to make the score 8-0.
 
The Govs looked to try to bring momentum back to their side, tallying a two-run homer in the third and a solo homer in the fourth to close the gap to 8-3.
 
Drafton responded right back in the bottom of the fourth, blasting a solo home run of her own to deep center field for her second RBI of the game.
 
After the Govs failed to score in the top of the fifth, Drafton came back up to bat in the bottom of the frame and called game.
 
With runners on second and third, the sophomore lined a drive through the right side for her third and fourth RBIs of the game and secured the run rule victory.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Colonels and the Governors close out the pivotal series with a rubber match on Saturday at 1 PM. An EKU win would stretch their advantage in the Gold Division to 2.5 games, but a Govs victory would make it just a 0.5 game lead.