FLORENCE, Ala. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team fell in a close matchup with the North Alabama Lions on Sunday afternoon, 4-5.

The Colonels (32-14, 13-5 ASUN) fall to just 1.0 and 1.5 games ahead of Central Arkansas and Austin Peay in the Gold Division, but hold the head-to-head advantage over both teams.

Maddi Rutan was first in the circle for the Colonels, pitching 3.0 innings before Victoria Byrum (11-3) made a relief appearance for the final 3.0 innings. The two pitchers combined for five strikeouts on the day, four from Rutan and one from Byrum.

The Lions were first on the board, putting up one run in the bottom of the opening inning. The Colonels plated two response runs in the second inning to take the lead. Taci Haase opened the scoring for EKU with an RBI single to left field before Jaelin Haynes followed up with a sacrifice fly.

Three more runs came for the Lions in the next inning to regain the lead, 4-2. After a scoreless fourth inning, the Colonels brought another two-run response in the top of the fifth inning.

Makayla Mathis snuck a single up the middle that scored Kennedy Drafton, stretching the hit to second base on the throw. The aggressive baserunning paid off as Jada McLeod followed with a bloop to shallow right field that allowed Mathis to reach home.

Tied 4-4, the Lions brought one more run home in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead once again. The following three Colonels went down in order in the seventh inning as EKU came up short in game one, 4-5.

UP NEXT

The squad gets two more chances at the Lions with a Sunday doubleheader. Game one of the day gets underway at noon ET followed by game two at approximately 2:30 PM ET. Both games will be available for streaming on ESPN+.