Southeast softball team drops two at home

[This story has been edited to correct the year in school of Southeast's Savannah Carpenter and delete information about a play in the second inning.]

The Southeast Missouri State softball team dropped a pair of games in its All-Missouri Cancer Classic tournament on Saturday.

Southeast (4-8) started Saturday's action against Missouri State where they failed to plate a run in an 8-0 loss to the Bears. The Redhawks dropped their second game against Saint Louis 7-4.

The Bears got off to a quick start in the first inning of game one, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead on a three-run home run from Heather Duckworth.

"We're trying to stop the big innings," coach Lana Richmond said, whose team was plagued by them last weekend. "They jumped right in to a big inning against us in the first, and it's hard to come back from that when you struggle to get people on like we did today."

The Redhawks had just five hits against the Bears.

MSU tagged on another run in both the second and third innings on RBI singles to extend its lead to 5-0.

Duckworth extended the Bears lead in the fifth innning on an RBI triple down the right field line that scored a run. Duckworth then scored on a fielder's choice to push MSU's lead to 7-0. Duckworth went 2 for 4 in the game with four RBIs.

MSU starting pitcher Chelsea Jones pitched the complete game to get the win. She allowed just five hits and recorded five strikeouts.

In game two of tournament play, the Redhawks took an early lead on SLU when they scored four runs in the second inning. Southeast's first three batters reached base in the inning to load the bases for sophomore Savannah Carpenter. Carpenter followed with her first collegiate grand slam over the left field wall to give the Redhawks a 4-1 lead.

Carpenter added to her team-leading .500 average by going 3 for 4 with four RBIs against SLU.

"I was thinking base hit like I do every time I'm up," Carpenter said. "We needed runs at that point, and I was lucky enough to get a good pitch to hit and drive it for a grand slam."

The Redhawks had just three hits in the game and stranded their next four baserunners after Carpenter's homer.

Southeast allowed its second big inning of the tournament when the Bilikens scored four runs in the fifth inning.

Redhawks starting pitcher Keaira Schilling gave up a lead off double to her counterpart Laney Kneib. Schilling then got two consecutive outs but walked the next two batters she faced loading the bases for SLU. The Billikens got an RBI double, which scored two runs and tied the game 4-4.

Hannah Durham came in to relieve Schilling who pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up five earned runs on five hits.

Durham could not get the final out of the inning, giving up an RBI single to the first batter she faced, which gave the Bilikens the go ahead run and the lead they would not relinquish.

"We want them to come in and keep the scoreboard the same in that type of situation," Richmond said. "We had one out to get and just could not get it, and that put them ahead and hurt us for good."