NASHVILLE — The Tennessee State softball team closed out the regular season in dramatic fashion with a pair of walk-off wins over SEMO, claiming a 9-8 victory in eight innings followed by a 4-2 win on Sunday afternoon. TSU secured the No. 6 seed in the OVC Tournament and will face Tennessee Tech on Wednesday at 10 AM.

GAME 1 | Tennessee State 9, Southeast Missouri State 8 (8 Innings)

The Tigers needed eight innings to get the job done, but earned the 9-8 extra-innings win, walking it off on a single off the bat of Onnika Spencer to claim victory over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Sunday.

Tianna Salcido (5-7) got the win for Tennessee State (22-21, 12-12 OVC). The right-hander went five innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on six hits, allowing three walks and striking out two.

At the plate, the Tigers were paced by Jace Jackson, who went 3-for-5 on the day with a double, a home run and two RBI. Alexis Woods furnished a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and three RBI. JaKeyla McDaniel also helped out for Tennessee State, putting together two hits in three trips to the plate while adding a walk and an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Tigers got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Tennessee State's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a two-run home run off the bat of Jackson.

The Redhawks then gained ground, narrowing the lead to 4-1 until the Tigers expanded their advantage in the second. Tennessee State scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-RBI double from Woods, which brought the score to 7-1 in favor of the Tigers.

SEMO narrowed Tennessee State's lead to 7-2 before the Tigers stretched the advantage to 8-2 in the fifth inning. The Tigers scored once on an RBI single off the bat of .

SEMO then rallied to tie the ballgame at 8-8 before Tennessee State walked it off in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single off the bat of Spencer.

GAME NOTES

» Jackson compiled three hits in the game for Tennessee State.
» The Tigers had both Woods and Jackson smack multiple extra-base hits in the ballgame.
» Tennessee State's highest scoring inning was the first, when it pushed four runs across.
» Tennessee State grabbed a 4-0 lead in the bottom half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» Four Tigers had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» Tennessee State went 4-for-8 (.500) with runners in scoring position.
» Tennessee State pitchers limited Southeast Missouri State to just 3-for-16 (.188) with runners in scoring position.
» Tennessee State pitchers faced 42 Southeast Missouri State hitters in the game, allowing 14 ground balls and six fly balls while striking out two.
» The Tigers drew seven walks from Southeast Missouri State pitching.
» Jackson led the Tigers at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI.
» Southeast Missouri State was led offensively by Saysoff, who went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.
» Maddie Carney led the Redhawks pitching staff, throwing 5.2 innings of two-run ball.

GAME 2 | Tennessee State 4, Southeast Missouri State 2

The Tigers rallied to score three in the seventh inning and walked it off on Jace Jackson's three-run home run off of Delaney Kell to pick up the 4-2 win over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Sunday.

Reina Castillo (16-9) started in the circle and picked up the win for Tennessee State (23-21, 12-12 OVC). The right-hander went seven innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on nine hits, allowing three walks and striking out two.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing 2-0, the Tigers first put runs on the board in the sixth inning. Jackson put Tennessee State on the board with a leadoff home run off Elliott Stinson.

Tennessee State kept its deficit in check, holding Southeast Missouri State scoreless before scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim victory, walking it off on Jackson's three-run homer off of Delaney Kell.

GAME NOTES

» The Tigers got two home runs off the bat of Jackson.
» The Tigers power output was led by Jackson, who compiled two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Jackson drove in four runs for Tennessee State.
» Tennessee State's highest scoring inning was the seventh, when it pushed three runs across.
» Tennessee State pitchers limited Southeast Missouri State to just 1-for-8 (.125) with runners in scoring position.
» Tennessee State pitchers faced 32 Southeast Missouri State hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out two.
» The Tigers drew four walks from Southeast Missouri State pitching.
» Jackson led the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI.
» Southeast Missouri State was led offensively by Luna, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
» Maddie Stinson led the Redhawks pitching staff, throwing five innings of one-run ball.