NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont University Softball was unable to topple one of the top teams in the OVC on Friday afternoon at Rose Park. The Bruins (8-17, 4-12 OVC) dropped a pair of contests to visiting Eastern Kentucky (20-9, 12-4 OVC), falling 6-0 and 7-1.
In game one, the Colonels logged a pair of runs in the top of the first frame and never looked back. Belmont was finally able to log its first hit of the duel as sophomore Lauren Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) smacked a hard infield single. She was joined on base by classmate Abi Ledbetter (Livingston, Tenn.), who was walked. However, the pair were not moved around the bases. The home team looked to rally in the bottom of the seventh and close the six run differential. Sophomore Kailey Brown (San Antonio, Texas) drove a single up the middle and saw freshman Gabrielle Givers step in to pinch run. A ground out moved Givers to second and she was joined on base by sophomore MyKayla Spurlin (Madisonville, Ky.), who reached on four balls. A passed ball saw Givers hustle to third but that would be as close as BU would come to getting a runner over the plate as they fell, 6-0.
In the nightcap, BU would rally to score first. In the bottom of the second inning, senior Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) singled to right and had freshman Savannah Halterman (Nashville, Tenn.) step in to pinch run. The speedster was able to steal one base and take advantage of an EKU throwing error to cross home plate. Eastern Kentucky fired back, scoring six runs over the next two innings to take a 6-1 lead. The Bruins seemed to have an opportunity to score another run in the bottom of the fourth but the runner was caught attempting to steal home. EKU added an extra run in the top of the sixth frame and was able to hold on for the 7-1 win.
For the day, Brown led the Bruins at the plate, batting .500, followed by senior Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas), who batted .429.
Inside the circle, seniors Alicia Veltri and Autumn McDanel (Moravia, Iowa) and freshman Alex Clesi (Mandeville, La.) all saw time, combining for 14 strikeouts.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday for the rubber game of the series. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Live stats will be available. Fans may also follow the team's Twitter account (@BelmontSoftball) for live, in-game updates.
