Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville softball team split a doubleheader against UT-Martin in the 2011 home opener today at James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium. The Aces won the first game 7-6 in eight innings before dropping game two 7-3.
UE will return to action this weekend, hosting a three-game series with Creighton to open the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference season. The Aces will take on the Bluejays in a double header Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with a single game Sunday. Both days are scheduled for a noon first pitch.
Game 1: Evansville 7, UT-Martin 6 (8 innings)
Freshman Katie Sears delivered a walk-off game-winning single to left center to give the Aces the win in their first home game of the season.
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Aces used three hits and took advantage of a timely Skyhawk error to push across three runs and tie the game at 5-all.
The score remained tied going into the top of the eighth when UT-Martin delivered a single to centerfield to go up 6-5. Evansville answered with a two-run, two-hit bottom of the inning to seal the win.
Sears ended game one going 4-for-5 at the plate. As a team, the Aces lineup tallied 12 hits. Freshman Taylor Perry got the start in the circle before being relieved by sophomore Kendall Kautz in the fourth inning. Junior Maggie Little entered the game in the top of the eighth inning to pick up the win and improve to 2-3 on the season.
Game 2: Evansville 3, UT-Martin 7
The Skyhawks took game two from the Aces with a 7-3 win to close out the doubleheader. UT-Martin used nine hits to post four earned runs in the nightcap.
Sophomore Alicia Betancur led the Aces at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and three runs batted in. Sophomore Tamara Robey crossed the plate twice, accounting for two of the Aces’ three runs. Defensively, the Aces turned four double-plays in game two.
Little (2-4) took the loss on the mound, giving up five hits and four runs in the first three innings. Freshmen Emily Morris and Samantha Meyer both entered the game in relief. Morris scattered three hits in 3.1 innings of work while Meyer allowed one hit before recording the final two outs of the ballgame.
Chelsea Jones tossed the win for the Skyhawks, improving to 6-3 on the season with six strikeouts on the night.
