EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE softball outhit Tennessee State 7-5 Friday but dropped the opening game of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series 2-1.
The Cougars and the Tigers will play two more times at Cougar Field Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
TSU's Caitlyn Manus outdueled SIUE's
Kelsey Ray for the victory. Manus improved to 11-11 while Ray fell to 4-8.
SIUE, 13-20 overall and 0-8 in the OVC, scored first in the contest. In the first inning, the Cougars tallied on back-to-back hits with a single up the middle by
Lexi King and a double by
Emma Neuman that scurried to the fence in right center.
"We came out hot," said SIUE Head Coach
Ben Sorden. "We just need to finish."
Tennessee State, 15-18-1 overall and 6-6 in the OVC, responded with a single tally in the fifth on an RBI by Anayah Baker and a solo home run in the sixth from Onnika Spencer.