APSU Sports Information
Oxford, AL – Austin Peay State University’s softball team had its chances versus Jacksonville State on Day 2 of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament, Thursday at Choccolocco Park, but couldn’t punch across a run in a 3-0 defeat.
The Govs (37-16), the tournaments second-seed, put runners in base in six of the seven innings played — including getting the lead-off batter on base to start the second and fourth innings and runners into scoring position in the third and fifth innings — but could not capitalize on those chances.
Overall, the Govs only collected two hits in the loss, a single by Morgan Rackel in the second inning and a single by Natalie Schilling in the third.
Jacksonville State (31-23), the tournament’s third-seed, did all its damage in the first two innings, with a single run in the first inning on a solo home run, followed by two more runs in the second inning off three hits.
The Govs continue their OVC Softball Championship run, 12:30pm, Friday, facing Morehead State in an elimination game.
A victory versus Morehead State would earn the Govs a spot in Friday’s nightcap elimination contest, starting at 5:30pm.
You can follow all the Govs action at the OVC Softball Championships at the conference’s tournament website at http://ovcsports.com/sports/2017/6/15/2018softball.aspx or at the Govs softball team on Austin Peay’s official athletics website Let’sGoPeay.com or on Twitter @AustinPeaySB for more information or updates.
Inside the Box Score
The shutout was the first suffered by the Govs this season, breaking a school-record 54-game streak without being shutout.
Junior outfielder Kacy Acree saw her hit streak end at 15 games, but a fifth-inning walk extended her string of games reaching base to 29.
Junior pitcher Morgan Rackel has not allowed an opponent to score a run in her last 27.2 innings of work covering four-plus appearances.
Junior outfielder Natalie Schilling stole two bases versus Jacksonville State marking the ninth game this season where she has stolen at least two bases in a contest.
Coaching Quotables with Head Coach Rodney DeLong
On tough day at the plate
“I would have never expected us to get beat 3-0. We just didn’t perform at the plate, and I think we just put to much pressure on ourselves. We tried to swing our way back into the thing instead of being patient, seeing pitches and working counts a little bit.”
On a long, but achievable challenge ahead
“We definitely have our hands full and hopefully we just compete the best we can and come out and play hard. It’s going to be a couple of long days, but we’ve had a couple of long streaks of playing well this year and where’s no doubt we can do it again.”
