The Eastern Kentucky University softball team split a doubleheader against Bellarmine on April 25, opening their series with two closely contested games.
The results keep the series alive for a deciding game and highlight the competitive nature of both teams. The Colonels now hold a record of 25-22-1 overall and 12-6-1 in ASUN play.
In the first game, Eastern Kentucky took an early lead but ultimately fell to Bellarmine, 4-3. Jada McLeod scored the opening run after drawing a walk and being brought home by Claire Schreiner’s single. Bellarmine responded with a solo home run from Tia Ice in the second inning. The Colonels regained their advantage through runs by Kennedy Drafton and Reese Knox, but Bellarmine tied it up in the fifth before securing victory with another solo home run in the sixth.
Game two saw EKU bounce back after trailing 3-1. Jaelin Haynes scored early off Lilly Davis’s single, but Bellarmine took control until Emily Mariscal tripled and later scored to cut into the deficit. In the fifth inning, key hits from Sharyn Duncan and Makayla Mathis propelled EKU ahead for good at 5-3. Pitcher Tayteum Vigansky held off any late challenge from Bellarmine to seal a narrow win for EKU.
The series will conclude Sunday with a rubber match between Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
