OXFORD, Ala. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team's defense was not slowed at all by the three-game bye as they slugged out a 2-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast in the ASUN quarterfinals on Thursday.
The Colonels (37-14, 15-7 ASUN) get revenge on the Eagles, who handed them a 2-3 tournament-opening loss in last year's ASUN tournament. With the win, the Colonels advance to the winner's semifinal on Friday afternoon, where they'll face the winner of No. 4 Stetson vs. No. 1 North Florida.
Maddi Rutan (18-8) pitched her 15th complete game of the year, giving up just one run and zero walks while striking out ten Eagles over the 7.0 innings.
The performance is her tenth double-digit strikeout appearance of the year and brings the sophomore up to 223 Ks on the season in 165.0 innings pitched, the most since Hayley Flynn in 2016 with 268 in 212.1 IP.
FGCU tallied seven hits compared to just two for the Colonels as they legged out a number of infield singles with their speed - leading the conference in steals by a wide margin. However, the Colonel defense remained stout with multiple impressive plays, giving up just one extra-base hit and the lone run.
The Colonels also took advantage of multiple Eagle miscues, reaching base on three errors as well as five walks. One such walk opened the scoring for EKU as a good eye from
Skyler Billips nabbed her a bases-loaded RBI in the fourth inning.
The Eagles mustered a response in the sixth inning to break up Rutan's shutout with an RBI single from Maddox Thomas after a leadoff double.
A Colonel response came immediately in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead.
Lilly Davis opened the inning with a single to the second base area before advancing to second on a throwing error. With two outs on the board,
Jaelin Haynes delivered in the clutch, sneaking an RBI double just over the Eagle left fielder.
The Colonel defense remained a brick wall in the final inning, downing the first three FGCU batters in order to secure the win and move on.
UP NEXT
The Colonels will take on the winner of Stetson vs. North Florida in the winner's semifinals on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 PM ET and will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
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