EIU softball extends win streak to nine games
Eastern pitcher, Olivia Price (6), pitches to batters from Morehead on Williams Field on Saturday April 22, 2023.
April 23, 2023
The Eastern softball team has a 15-2 conference record and a nine-game win streak after they swept Morehead State in the three-game series on Friday and Saturday.
They beat Morehead 8-0 in the first game on Friday and then 3-1 in the second game Friday. On Saturday, they secured the sweep with a 4-0 win.
Pitcher Olivia Price took two of the wins and pitcher Rachel Kaufman took one.
Price did not allow any runs in either of the games she pitched in. This has allowed her to lower her season ERA to 1.58. She allowed a total of nine hits and had no errors between the games.
Kaufman allowed four hits, one run, and no errors in the game she pitched in on Friday. She has an overall 1.87 ERA on the season.
Price and Kaufman have the best ERA’s and statistics overall to make them the best in the OVC.
Throughout the duration of the series, Morehead State had a total of 13 hits and one run. Peyton Jordan was the one player to score for Morehead in the weekend series.
For game one, the batting leaders for EIU were Kendall Grover and Aniya Holt as they both had two hits and two runs. Holt had a double and a home run. Jaylen Prichard, Rachel Kaufman, Lindy Milkowski, and Aryn Henke all had one run.
For game two, Prichard, Milkowski, and Lewis all had a run. Briana Gonzalez had a double.
For game three, Marama Makea, Denied Santini, Henke, and Gonzales all had runs. Prichard and Gonzalez were able to steal a base and both Prichard and Grover had doubles.
Head coach Tara Archibald was happy with the persistence the team had to take all three wins this weekend.
“I thought today was kind of all about toughness,” Archibald said. “Game three of the series is always tough. So we just talked a lot about staying focused pitch by pitch and being tough.”
She said she and the team focus on being the best they can be each game because that has led them to success so far this season.
“I told them what they’re doing is working,” Archibald said. “What they’re doing is good. I feel like we’re getting better every time we go out. We’re just trying to focus on being the best version of ourselves every game and every game we learn something new about ourselves. That way we can get better for the end of the year, but yeah, we’re in a good spot.”
She said while she cannot believe the season is coming to a close soon, she is proud of the success she has seen from her team so far.
“[I’m] proud. Really proud,” Archibald said. “Proud of what these girls have done to build our program, to represent EIU. I feel like they’re representing EIU really, really well. And hopefully everyone’s enjoying the product they’re putting out on the field because I think they’re a lot of fun to watch.”
EIU has a few days to rest, recover, and prepare for the doubleheader with IUPUI on Tuesday. They will play at 3 p.m. and again at about 5:30 p.m.
They have just two more OVC series left as they play at Lindenwood on April 29 and 30 and then they will host SEMO at home May 6 and 7 to close out the regular season.
Kate Stevens can be reached at 581-2812 or at kestevens2@eiu.edu
