Southern Illinois University
28-6, 12-4
Evansville
22-15, 10-7
Softball Splits Doubleheader With Evansville
04/17/2003 | 12:00:00 | Softball
April 17, 2003
Evansville, Ind. - Freshman Katie Louis' two home runs tied the SIU single season mark of ten and led the SIU to a doubleheader split at Evansville (22-16, 10-8 MVC) on Wednesday. Southern Illinois (29-7, 13-4 MVC) lost game one 3-1 and came back to win game two 2-1 behind Louis' two-run homer.
"I'm very pleased with the split. That was two of the best games Evansville played all year and their pitcher threw two great games. I'm happy that the kids battled back. We didn't play well the first game and the four errors were the most this year. Amy Harre pitched well but we lost the first one and Renee Mueller threw a great game in the win," said Kerri Blaylock, SIU head coach.
"We're 29-7 so I can't complain about much. You're going to have games like game one and you just hope to shake it off and play better the next game. Katie Louis did it today and we have someone different stepping up every week. Louis was in a zone all night and that home run in game two was huge for us. We needed a lift and she gave it to us. I saw a rocket come off her bat from where I was standing (behind the stadium after an ejection) and I'm glad she's doing it as a freshman."
The Salukis trailed game two 1-0 in the sixth inning when Louis hit her second homer of the day, a two-run shot that traveled over 300 feet onto the Evansville baseball field, giving SIU a 2-1 lead.
Renee Mueller (10-2) shut the door, retiring six of the next seven batters, including a diving grab in the seventh to pick up her career-high tenth win. Mueller threw a complete game four-hitter with three strikeouts and three walks.
Louis' second home run tied the single season school record of ten set by Marta Viefhaus in 1999. Her homer in game one broke Viefhaus' freshman record of eight as well. Afterwards, Louis was more concerned with helping her team split than her record breaking home run success.
"I thought it was really important to come out of here with a split. I just wanted something to drive and didn't expect to hit a home run. She may have got tired and hung a good pitch and I jumped on it. I'm not too concerned with the record. As long as we're getting MVC wins, that's way more important than the record. The late wins with a homer helps bring the team together to celebrate, but I'd rather have a conference ring than the record. As long as I make contact I'm happy. If it goes out, it goes out. When they told me how far it was I was amazed," added Louis.
Evansville's Katie Markle (14-8) held SIU to just one run in game one. Louis hit a solo shot, her ninth, to give SIU the 1-0 lead after the second inning.
The Purple Aces scored three unearned runs against Amy Harre (17-5) in the fourth inning on three errors, three singles and a sacrifice fly to win 3-1 and snap SIU's six game winning streak. The Salukis committed a season-high four errors in the game one loss. Harre allowed just four hits in the loss with two strikeouts and a walk.
SIU travels to Cedar Falls for a three game series with Northern Iowa on Friday and Saturday. SIU will play a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Friday and a Saturday finale at 12 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Markle (14-7)
L: Amy Harre (17-5)
Batting:
HR: Katie Louis 1
RBI: Katie Louis 1
SH: Lauren Roney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Katie Louis 1
HBP: Samantha Carter 1
Batting:
RBI: Doner 1 ; Laraway 1
SF: Doner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Winters 1 ; Luker 1 ; Woods 1
SB: Woods 1
