CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Middle Tennessee had the lead twice but could not hold on as the Blue Raiders (14-19, 7-7) fell 6-4 on a walk-off homerun in the first game fo a doubleheader against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks (18-18, 7-7) at Southeast Missouri Softball Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
The Blue Raiders were coming off a series victory, taking two games of three against Sun Belt Conference foe North Texas in Denton, Texas over the weekend.
Lindsey Vander Lugt (10-11) got the start and the loss for the Blue Raiders. The Sophomore gave up five earned runs on eight hits, while striking out two and walking one, in the 6.1 inning complete game.
Redhawk starter Elaine Fisher (13-12) got the win for the home team. The righty gave up four runs on four hits, while striking out five in 7.0 innings.
Southeast Missouri opened the scoring the 1st inning when Stacia Dupudja reached base on a fielders choice, scoring Jen Vasquez and putting the Redhawks in the lead 1-0.
The Blue Raiders responded in the top of the 2nd. Whitney Darlington reached and advanced to second base on a throwing error by third baseman Michelle Summers to put a runner in scoring position. Jessica Ives struck out swinging before Whittney Padgett nailed her seventh RBI of the season with a well-hit single down the left field line.
Middle Tennessee took advantage of a Redhawk fielding error to widen their lead in the 3rd inning. Brittney Banania was hit by a Carmen Fowler pitch before Corrie Abel struck a hard ball through the legs of Redhawk second baseman Allie Borowiak, allowing Abel to reach second base.
Two batters later, Justine Cerda nailed a two RBI single, driving in Abel and Banania and increasing the Blue Raider lead to 3-1.
The Redhawks tied the game in the 6th inning. Megan McDonald and Dupudja doubled and singled respectively to put runners on the corners before Katie Otterness drove in a run to make it 3-2. With a a runner on third base, Carmen Fowler reached first on a throwing error by pitcher Vander Lugt, allowing Dupdja to cross the plate and make it 3-3.
The Blue Raiders again took the lead in the final inning. Whittney Padgett led off the inning with a double to right-center field. The next batter, Caitlin McLure, reached first on a throwing error by pitcher Fisher, allowing pinch runner Kandra Singleton to cross the plate to put MT out in front 4-3.
The Redhawks scored three runs in the final inning, including a walk-off homerun by Dupudja, to drop the Blue Raiders to only their third loss in the last nine games.
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