MACON, Ga. – The Savannah State University (0-18) fell to Eastern Illinois University (14-13) 6-1 and to Belmont University (21-5) 13-3 in five innings at Sikes Field at the Mercer Bears Classic.
 
Senior right fielder Alexis Singleton led SSU at the plate with a .857 (6-for-7) batting average with two runs scored, a triple and two RBIs, while junior center fielder Brianna Harris batted .500 (3-for-6) with an RBI.
 
Eastern Illinois 6, Savannah State 1
Singleton went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with one run scored and Harris went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while freshman third baseman Alysha Bolling and sophomore pitcher Faith Dickerson each added a hit.  On the mound, Dickerson (0-7) pitched a complete game giving up six runs on six hits. 
 
Savannah State broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the first inning after Harris' single through the right side to drive home Singleton, who started the inning with a single to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead.
 
With one out in the top of the second inning, the game was delayed for two hours and 23 minutes due to rain.
 
Eastern Illinois got on the board in the top of the third inning with three runs after an RBI walk and a two-run double to left center to take a 3-1 lead and added three more runs in the fourth inning after a three-run home run to left field for the five run win.
 
The Panthers were led by Maria Bevito and Mady Poulter with two hits each, while Poulter recorded four RBIs and Kiley Pelker recorded two RBIs.   On the mound, Jessica Wireman (5-8) picked up the win, pitched the first five innings giving up one run on six hits, while McKenna Coffman pitched the final two shutout innings giving up one hit.
 
Belmont 13, Savannah State 3
Singleton went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs, while Harris went 2-for-3 and sophomore third baseman Allye Sneed went 1-for-2 with a run scored.  On the mound, senior pitcher Amanda McDowell pitched the complete game giving 11 earned runs on eight hits. 
 
Belmont scored the first three runs in the bottom of the first inning after a throwing error to allow a Bruin to score and a two-run home run to right field for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Lady Tigers bounced back with three runs in the top of the second inning to tie the game at three.  After back-to-back foul outs to record two outs, sophomore catcher Kelsey Cyrus walked, followed by Sneed's singled to put runners on first and second. Singleton tripled to right center to drive home Cyrus and Sneed.  Dickerson reached on a fielder error by the shortstop to allow Singleton to score to tie the game.
 
The Bruins scored two runs in the third inning to take a two-run lead, 5-3, after a two-run double to left center with two outs and added to the lead by scoring four runs in the fourth after a grand slam to take a 9-3 lead.
 
Belmont ended the game scoring the final four runs in the fifth inning after an infield run allowed the runners to advance to score a Bruin and a three-run home run to left field. 
 
The Bruins were led by Lexi Rouse with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Shersty Stanton went 1-for-3 with four RBIs.  On the mound, Rouse (6-2) picked up the win in relief pitching the final 3.1 shutout innings on two hits. 
 
The Lady Tigers finish the tournament against Eastern Michigan University Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
 
Eastern Illinois 6, Savannah State 1 (Mar 18, 2017 at Macon, Ga.)
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Eastern Illinois.... 003 300 0 -  6  6  1      (14-13)
Savannah State...... 100 000 0 -  1  7  0      (0-17)
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Pitchers: Eastern Illinois - WIREMAN; COFFMAN(6) and ROBERTS. Savannah State - DICKERSON,Faith
and CYRUS,Kelsey.
Win-WIREMAN(5-8)  Loss-DICKERSON,Faith(0-7)  T-2:08  A-78
HR EIU - POULTER (2).
Weather: 60, Cloudy; Wind: WSW, 6 mph
Game notes:
Rain Delay in Top 2nd lasted 2:23
 
Belmont 13, Savannah State 3 (Mar 18, 2017 at Macon, Ga.)
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Savannah State...... 030 00 -  3  5  4      (0-18)
Belmont............. 302 44 - 13  8  2      (21-5)
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Pitchers: Savannah State - MCDOWELL,AMANDA and CYRUS,Kelsey. Belmont - JOHNSON; ROUSE(2) and
DELONEY.
Win-ROUSE(6-2)  Loss-MCDOWELL,AMANDA(0-6)  T-2:04  A-77
HR BEL - STANTON (2); ROUSE (4); DELONEY (10).
Weather: 65, Clear; Wind: WSW, 10 mph
 
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