Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball to Host Evansville in Key MVC Doubleheader
04/16/2002 | 12:00:00 | Softball
April 16, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois (23-12, 10-4) will return to action this week when it hosts Evansville (24-20, 10-4) in a key Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader tomorrow at 2 p.m. Both teams will battle for sole possession of second place in the Valley.
Wednesday's matchup features the league's top two pitching units going head-to-head. SIU, who has led the Valley in pitching all season long, boasts a 1.03 ERA with 169 Ks in 238.1 innings of work. Evansville, on the other hand, ranks second with a 1.75 ERA which includes 199 strikeouts over 300.1 innings.
Currently on a four-game winning streak, SIU heads into tomorrow's twin bill coming off a recent three-game sweep of Indiana State on April 13-14. The 3-0 blanking of the Sycamores marked the third time this season the Dawgs have swept a Valley opponent.
Leading the Salukis are freshmen Amy Harre (.333) and Katie Jordan (.301). Harre, who was named MVC Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season on April 16, was called to make her first collegiate at-bats last weekend where she blasted two home runs, scored three runs and posted two RBI.
Meanwhile, Jordan will look to keep her eight-game hitting streak alive as she leads the Dawgs in both runs scored (21) and home runs (3).
Evansville enters tomorrow's matchup coming off of losses in three of its last four games, including a pair against league-leading Illinois State. The Purple Aces are spearheaded by sophomore outfielder Emily Winters who is batting .333 with 48 hits, 20 runs, five doubles and three RBI.
SIU rounds out its three-game set with Evansville which began earlier in the month (April 3). With sole possession of second place at stake heading into that contest as well, the Purple Aces prevailed by overcoming a two-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to posting a 3-2 come-from-behind victory at Cooper Stadium.
Pre-Game Notes: SIU has averaged 10 hits in each of its last three games. Combining for a total of 30 hits against the Sycamores, the Salukis boosted their team batting average from .218 to a season-high .233. Kerri Blaylock, a 1988 graduate of Evansville, still holds virtually all of UE's pitching records to this day. Blaylock, who was inducted into the Evansville Hall of Fame, went 77-48 with a 1.54 ERA during her collegiate softball career. Senior first baseman Jen Guenther batted .750 in three games last week against Indiana State. In seven at-bats, the native of Greendale, Wis., scattered six hits, scored two runs and posted seven RBI. She is also batting .357 alone against conference opponents.
