Kertz helps power Southeast Missouri State softball team to sweep

Renee Kertz is on the home-run binge of her life.

Kertz belted two more home runs in Saturday's first game. Those, along with a crucial error, helped the Southeast Missouri State softball team pull out a dramatic 8-5 victory.

Southeast then routed visiting Austin Peay 9-1 in a five-inning, run-rule nightcap to sweep the Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader.

The Redhawks improved to 12-19 overall and 8-5 in OVC play, solidifying their hold on fourth place in the 11-team league after finishing last a year ago.

Southeast and Austin Peay (7-25, 2-10) close their three-game series at 1 p.m. today as the Redhawks continue a seven-game homestand.

"It was a huge win to come back like that and then to get the sweep," Southeast coach Lana Richmond said.

The Redhawks saw the Governors rally from a 4-0 deficit to carry a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh of the opener. Southeast was down to its last three outs.

Southeast's situation became even more desperate after the first two batters were retired.

But freshman pinch-hitter Shelby Kuryllo singled. Junior right fielder Cheyenne Gipson re-entered the game to replace Kuryllo on first base and stole second, her team-leading 15th theft of the season. She has been caught just one time.

"Our freshman came through and I felt like we had to be aggressive, go for the steal," Richmond said. "I felt with her [Gipson[']s] speed, they could not throw her out."

The inning stayed alive when junior center fielder Evan Sallis reached on an error by the first baseman, putting runners on first and third.

Senior second baseman Carmen Fowler, Southeast's leading hitter with a .406 average, singled to plate Gipson and tie the contest.

"I was just trying to put it in play, make something happen," Fowler said. "I was trying not to be nervous more than anything."

Up stepped Kertz, who drilled a three-run, walk-off home run over the left-center field wall.

All four runs in the inning were unearned thanks to the two-out error.

"It was real exciting," Kertz said about what she described as her first game-winning home run on any level.

Kertz, a junior shortstop, also homered in the third inning, a two-run shot that gave Southeast a 4-0 lead.

Kertz has a team-high six home runs this season, all in the last seven games. Kertz, a starter since she was a freshman, hit just one homer in each of her first two college seasons.

"I have no way to explain it. I didn't hit many home runs in high school," said Kertz, a St. Louis native who is second on the Redhawks with a .341 batting average and now leads in RBIs with 26. "I'm just relaxed, having fun, trying not to do too much."

Kertz's home-run barrage has come after she was moved from fifth in the batting order to the cleanup spot about two weeks ago.

"She has an incredible eye and she's very strong," Richmond said. "She's worked really hard on her hitting. She's been on a rampage hitting home runs."

Fowler and sophomore first baseman Taylor Cowan also had two of Southeast's eight hits in the opener. Fowler tripled.

Freshman Alora Marble (6-6) was the winner pitcher with 2 2/3 innings of one-hit, shutout relief. She struck out three and walked one.

Freshman Shea Cothren was charged with five runs, three earned, on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The second game was no contest. After Austin Peay got a first-inning run, Southeast responded with five in the bottom of the frame. The big blow was a two-run double by sophomore third baseman Kaitlin Wallace.

Southeast added two runs in both the third and fourth innings.

"It was good we didn't lose our energy for the second game," Kertz said. "We played Tennessee-Martin [the teams split a doubleheader Wednesday] and we lost a little bit of energy after winning the first game."

The Redhawks had 10 more hits in the nightcap. Kertz, Cowan and Wallace all doubled among their two hits. Cowan and senior DP Nicole Troncoso, Southeast's top hitter the past two seasons, matched Wallace with two RBIs apiece.

Cowan (2-5) pitched all five innings for the victory. After allowing a run on three hits in the first inning, Cowan was perfect over the final four frames, retiring all 12 batters she faced. She struck out two and did not issue a walk.

"She has struggled in the circle. It was good to see her pitch so well, especially to settle down after the first inning," Richmond said.