PEORIA, Ill. - The No. 3 seeded Tennessee State softball team rallied to score three in the seventh inning and walked it off on a two-run triple off the bat of Nahtali Simpson to pick up the 9-8 win over the No. 7 seed Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Wednesday.
Holly Ayala picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Tennessee State. The right-hander went three innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on six hits, allowing one walk and striking out one.
Offensively, the Tigers were led by Laila Armstrong, who went 4-for-5 on the day with a double and two RBI. Simpson put together a noteworthy performance at the dish, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk and two RBI. Onnika Spencer also helped out for Tennessee State, putting together three hits in four trips to the plate while adding a triple.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the second inning. Tennessee State scored twice on a two-run double off the bat of Anayah Baker-Rowell.
The Tigers lost the lead they built in the second, but got back on the board in the third trailing 4-2. Simpson came across to score the lone run of the inning for Tennessee State, which tightened the Golden Eagles lead to 4-3.
Tennessee Tech built their lead to 6-3 before the Tennessee State offense got going, reducing that lead to 6-5 in the fifth.
Tennessee State held the Golden Eagles off the board before tying it up in the sixth. Simpson crossed home plate with the lone run of the inning for the Tigers, evening the score at 6-6.
Tennessee Tech then broke the tied and took an 8-6 lead before Tennessee State scored three runs in the bottom half of the seventh to grab the win, walking it off
GAME NOTES
» Laila Armstrong racked up four hits on the day for Tennessee State.
» Tennessee State's highest scoring inning was the seventh, when it pushed three runs across.
» Four Tigers had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» Tennessee State went 6-for-13 (.462) with runners in scoring position.
» Tennessee State pitchers faced 36 Tennessee Tech hitters in the game, allowing 13 ground balls and six fly balls while striking out one.
» The Tigers drew five walks from Tennessee Tech pitching.
» Laila Armstrong led the Tigers at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
NEXT UP
TSU will face the No. 2 seed SEMO tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Live links for tomorrow's contest can be found
here.
