The Eastern Kentucky softball team couldn’t take advantage of its chances late in Sunday’s final game of the Eastern-Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley Conference series, losing the rubber game 2-1 in nine innings.

The Colonels trailed 1-0 in the top of the seventh, when they tied it courtesy of an error on freshman left fielder Melise Brown, who dropped the potential final out.

“That’s OK, I mean it happens,” junior pitcher Amber May said. “I’m just glad that we held them to that one run.”

With two outs, the Colonels (12-27, 6-7 OVC) rallied to load the bases but couldn’t capitalize. In the eight and ninth innings, Eastern Kentucky left three runners on, giving the Eastern offense life.

The bottom of the ninth began with a single to left field off junior third baseman Kiley Holtz’s bat.

Three batters later, freshman pitcher Kristin Perry walked the bases loaded, forcing junior pitcher Stacye Toups to come to relief Perry to try and get the Colonels out of a one-out jam.

The relief didn’t work out, as Toups threw five pitches on the mound, four of which were balls. Eastern sophomore second baseman Jen Saucier took the walk, bringing in the game-winning run.

On Saturday, the Panthers (19-17, 9-4 OVC) played a doubleheader to begin the three-game series against the Colonels, splitting wins.

Again, the Panthers gave up a late game lead, holding a 3-1 advantage going into the sixth inning.

May gave up two-run, game-tying home run off the bat of freshman second baseman Nikki Bruce in the sixth.

Bruce cut through 10 mph winds blowing in to blast a homer to deep center field.

“With this wind, I don’t know how Bruce hit that one out because I thought Jackson hit a really good one in the second game, so did Sauce (Saucier) and it just went foul and so did Denee’,” head coach Kim Schuette said.

Much like Sunday’s game, Eastern would answer after surrendering the lead. It did so in the bottom of the sixth.

After Brown singled down the first base line, she stole second base, giving junior first baseman Melinda Jackson a chance to get the lead back for the Panthers.

Jackson singled, bringing home Brown for the 4-3 Eastern lead.

“I was just doing what Coach Schuette was telling me to do by putting the ball on the ground,” Jackson said. “It was working.”

The seventh had Eastern three outs away from victory, and May retired the Colonels in order.

In the nightcap, the Panthers were blown out, 7-0, using all three pitchers.

The second inning put Eastern too far out of the game, as the Colonels brought across five runs and the Panthers went through three pitchers.

After a throwing error on senior shortstop Megan Nelson to start the inning, freshman pitcher Natalie Wunderlich retired the next two batters, but Wunderlich couldn’t finish the inning.

“We had two outs and then the next five runs were unearned,” Schuette said. “So they sent 10 batters to the plate with two outs that inning. That’s hard to swallow.”

The Panthers’ offense couldn’t make up the deficit, falling further behind in the fourth inning, 7-0, which would be the final score.

Eastern took 2-of-3 against the Colonels this weekend and will look to improve its OVC record against Southeast Missouri Wednesday with a home game starting a 3 p.m. at Williams Field.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu

Junior pitcher Amber May pitches against Eastern Kentucky Saturday at Williams Field during a doubleheader. Eastern Illinois University went on to split the doubleheader on Saturday and win their game against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday. (Danny Damiani/Th

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