Southern Illinois University
35-12, 12-6
Creighton
32-13-1, 12-6
Softball Falls 3-2 To Creighton, Splits Doubleheader
04/25/2004 | 12:00:00 | Softball
April 25, 2004
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Creighton (32-13-1, 12-6 MVC) overcame a 2-0 deficit and came from behind and beat Southern Illinois 3-2 in the nightcap, splitting a doubleheader Sunday at West Stadium. Amy Harre threw a one-hitter in a 2-0 SIU (35-12, 12-6 MVC) win in game one. The split leaves both teams tied for second in the MVC at the time the games ended.
"We got a great pitching performance from Amy Harre in game one. She was tremendous in her third one-hitter this year, closing the door when they had runners on first and third. We were very focused at the plate in game one," said Kerri Blaylock, SIU head coach.
"In game two we had three hits in the first inning and then didn't get any more hits. (Creighton's) Abby Johnson really settled down after we scored the two runs in the first inning. They're a great team. Sometimes a split isn't too bad. I was proud with the way we came out to start the day. I talked to my other pitchers about someone else stepping up. We'll get there, but we have youth and first-timers. We're still 35-12 and I feel really good about going into these last six MVC games. It's going to be a tight race down the stretch."
The Salukis scored two runs in their first at bat. With one out, Samantha Carter singled. Katie Jordan crushed a 1-0 pitch over the leftfield fence to give SIU a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning. Jordan's home run, her tenth this season, tied her for the SIU career mark of 24 by Erin Stremsterfer (1998-2001).
Creighton came right back with a run in the bottom of the first inning, when Stacy Rybar hit a leadoff home run off SIU starter Cassidy Scoggins to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Bluejays took their first lead of the day in the third inning with two runs on three hits. After consecutive one-out singles, Scoggins was pulled by SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock. Alison Thompson came in and forced a pop out. With two outs, Christine Fukumoto doubled to the gap between left and centerfield to drive in Lauren Flores and Rybar for a 3-2 Creighton lead and the winning run.
Scoggins (10-4) allowed three runs, three hits and a walk in 2.1 innings to get the loss. Thompson walked two and allowed one hit in the final 3.2 innings of relief.
CU's Johnson (11-2) threw a complete game, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks with six strikeouts to pick up the win.
Jordan (1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI), Haley Viefhaus (1-for-3) and Carter (1-for-3, run) collected SIU's three hits.
The Salukis will travel to Champaign, Ill. for a non-conference doubleheader against Illinois on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson (11-2)
L: Scoggins (10-4)
Batting:
HR: Jordan 1
RBI: Jordan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Carter 1 ; Jordan 1
Batting:
2B: Fukumoto 1
HR: Rybar 1
RBI: Rybar 1 ; Fukumoto 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rybar 2 ; Flores 1
CS: Rybar 1 ; German 1
