April 27, 2002

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Despite dropping their regular season conference finale 5-1 in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Southeast Missouri battled back and finished the regular season with an identical 5-1 victory over Tennessee-Martin in the wet nightcap, in a game that acted as a non-conference contest. The seven Southeast Missouri seniors left the field in their final game with a victory, the 100th for the three seniors completing their fourth season with the Otahkians.

"(Kristen King) pitched extremely well and that is what we were looking for from her," Coach Lana Richmond said after the game referring to King's complete game victory in game two. "We can't play conservatively going in the tournament. We have to have all three components working for us, offensively, defensively and pitching."

Tennessee-Martin (24-29, 12-7 OVC) struck first in game one when DP Amy Harclerode singled to rightfield to score 2B Meredith Ramsey all the way from second base. Southeast senior RF Courtney Eklund fielded the ball cleanly and would have had a good chance to throw Ramsey out at the plate, but slipped in the wet outfield and was not able to make the play. UTM added its second run of the inning after CF Angela Baize reached on an error with two outs, allowing pinch runner Emily King to score and put the Skyhawks up 2-0.

Southeast Missouri (13-25, 9-12 OVC) had a golden opportunity to score in the bottom of the inning after a walk and a single by senior 1B Reagan Hamlin. Starting pitcher Kelly Birk was looking to help her own cause but her blooper to centerfield was caught on a diving play by Baize the end the threat and the inning.

The Otahkians once again threatened in the third inning, opening the frame by being patient and drawing back-to-back walks. But UTM ace Kendra Kosco was able to get a groundout and two strikeouts to get out of the jam.

Southeast finally got on the board in the fifth when senior C Jennifer Cobin launched a blast over the leftfield wall leading off the inning to cut the Skyhawk advantage to 2-1. The homerun was the second of Cobin's career.

A single by Harclerode and a walk to Nicole Davis to open the sixth pushed Birk from the game and brought senior Kristen King to the mound. A Baize single loaded the bases for UTM and a Lindsey Moffitt single to rightfield pushed the score to 3-1 all before the Otahkians recorded an out. But King did a great job working the remaining batters in the inning and got good defense behind her. SS Dawn Piantino recorded the first out with a force at home plate. Southeast then successfully picked off Baize on a failed squeeze bunt attempt and SS Andrea Mrozinski flew out to end the inning.

UTM added two important insurance runs in the top of the seventh, both unearned. Harclerode drove home the first run with an RBI-groundout and a Davis blooper to rightfield scored Paris and pushed the lead to 5-1.

That would be all Kosco (15-7) needed on the mound, as she was the winning pitcher. She struck out nine batters, allowed five hits and only the Cobin homerun.

Birk (6-10) took the loss, allowing only four hits in five innings. She allowed three runs, only two of which were earned. Only two of the five total UTM runs in the game were earned.

Harclerode led UTM offensively, going 2-4 at the plate with two RBI's and a run scored.

Although the three-game conference series was complete after the first game, the two teams played in a second game, which acted as a non-conference game. After stranding seven runners in the first game, the Otahkians started quick in game two scoring twice in the first inning. Piantino led off the inning with a single and came home to score when Hamlin drilled a double to the wall in left-centerfield. Hamlin would not be standing at second base long as senior 2B Emmy Kisaka doubled down the leftfield line to score Hamlin and push the advantage to 2-0 after an inning of play. Kisaka's double was the 22nd of her four-year career, which places her 11th on the all-time Southeast list, right behind her teammate Eklund who has 25 career two-basers.

An inning later, 3B Jamie Birk blasted a towering homerun, her second of the season, to dead centerfield to push the Southeast advantage to 3-0.

With one out in the top of the third inning, the teams were forced off the field due to a heavy downpour and remained in the dugouts for a 30-minute rain delay. The delay did not quiet the Otahkian bats as LF Erica Bonilla doubled to the leftfield wall scoring Kisaka and increasing the lead to 4-0 after three innings.

The Skyhawks finally hit the scoreboard in game two, scoring a run in the top of the fourth inning, when Harclerode came home to score thanks to a Southeast error on a groundball to shortstop by Baize.

Southeast got the run back in the fifth inning when UTM reliever Andrea Rushing hit a batter and then walked three other Otahkians, the last to Stacy DeClue to force in DP Amy Thompson with the fifth and final run of the game.

UTM was able to load the bases in the top of the seventh inning, but an outstanding defensive play by Piantino, deep in the hole at shortstop that saw her flip to ball to Jamie Birk at third, ended the game.

Senior Kristen King (3-9) pitched her third complete game of the season in picking up the victory. She allowed only five hits and one unearned run and struck out four while walking only one.

UTM's Nicole Davis (5-10) was the losing pitcher. She went three innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs. In relief, Rushing also went three innings, allowing one run and only two hits but walked four Otahkian batters.

Southeast had seven hits in game two, all by different batters. Of the six total runs UTM scored on the afternoon, only two were earned.

The Otahkians will open Ohio Valley Conference Tournament action next Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. in either Richmond, Ky. or Cookeville, Tenn. depending on which team wins the OVC Regular Season title. After Saturday's action, Eastern Kentucky (14-2) held a one-game advantage over Tech (15-3) in the loss column. EKU was rained out of Saturday and will play a doubleheader with Tennessee State on Sunday afternoon. TTU won a single game against Morehead State on Saturday before rain cancelled their finale. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday, weather permitting.

Southeast will either open with Austin Peay or Eastern Illinois in the first round, depending on the outcome of those two team's three-game series this weekend in Clarksville.

Game Notes: The start of the doubleheader was delayed 30 minutes due to a wet field ... Southeast turned its 21st double play of the season in the third inning; the Otahkians lead the OVC in double plays despite playing only 38 games ... 1B Reagan Hamlin extended her hitting streak to six games with a single in the first inning of game one and a double in the first inning of game two ... Kelly Birk failed to get a hit in game one, ending her current team-high six game hitting streak ... sophomore Stacy DeClue got her first start of her Southeast career and sophomore Amy Thompson got her first start of the season in game two ... while DeClue and Thompson were getting their first starts, Hamlin started her 88th consecutive game in her two years at Southeast; Hamlin has started every game in her career at Southeast and is the only Otahk to play in every game in the past two seasons ... juniors Katie Cerneka and Brooke Nett did not play in the doubleheader due to previous injuries; two other Otahkians, juniors Michelle Lunsford and Alicia Loucks returned to action for the first time since both being injured in a game against Tennessee Tech on April 13 ... the Otahkians 9-12 OVC record marked the first time in the team's 11 years in the conference that they finished below .500 ... Southeast finished the 2002 home campaign with a 6-14 overall home record, the first time in the four-year history of the Southeast Softball Complex and the history of the program that the team did not finish with a winning home record ... the game marked the last home game for seven Southeast seniors, Jennifer Cobin, Shelley Conroy, Courtney Eklund, Reagan Hamlin, Kristen King, Emmy Kisaka and Dawn Piantino.