Southern Illinois University
17-5, 2-2
Northern Iowa
18-7, 4-0
No. 20 Softball drops both games to UNI on Saturday
03/21/2009 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
March 21, 2009
By Kyle Herm
www.SIUSalukis.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Northern Iowa came from behind in both games to sweep Saturday's doubleheader over the No. 20 Saluki softball team in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Southern Illinois (17-6, 2-3 MVC) fell 3-2 in the opener, and dropped the second game 6-5 in eight innings after having a pair of three-run leads.
Northern Iowa (19-7, 5-0 MVC) scored seven of their nine runs on four home runs, and SIU stranded a total of 20 base runners, which proved to be the difference in the first two games of the series.
The two losses overshadowed what otherwise was a strong offensive day for the Salukis.
In the first game, the Southern outhit UNI 10-5 and had four different batters register two hits.
In the nightcap, sophomore Chelsea Held was the offensive catalyst with a career-high 4-for-5 hitting performance, including her fifth double, a stolen base and run.
Southern Illinois will wrap up the second MVC series of the season with a single game against UNI on Sunday at noon.
Game One - Northern Iowa 3 #20 Southern Illinois 2
Northern Iowa plated three runs on a pair of home runs in the bottom of the third to sink the Salukis in the opener 3-2.
Southern started strong with the game's first run in the top of the second.
With sophomore designated player Chelsea Held on first, senior Katie Wagner drilled a RBI-double off the right-field fence to put the Salukis up 1-0.
However in the blink of an eye, UNI stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the second on a leadoff home run by senior Brittney Balduf and a two-out, two-run homer to center field by freshman Mackenzie Daigh.
Both home runs looked to be seemingly harmless high fly balls, but carried just enough in the subtle breeze to clear the fence.
Following the second roundtripper Blaylock brought in McNamara who immediately neutralized the Valley's top offense.
The senior lefty only allowed two hits the final 4 1/3 innings to keep the Salukis in striking distance.
Freshman Haley Gorman helped start the comeback attempt with a bases-loaded RBI single to make it 3-2 in the fourth, but SIU stranded the remaining three runners in the inning and four others during the final three innings to have its rally fall short.
Panther's starter Jen Larson earned her ninth win of the season, while Glosson fell to 4-3.
Game Two - Northern Iowa 6 #20 Southern Illinois 5
Sophomore pinch hitter Eranne Daugharthy hit a solo, walk-off home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning to cap off UNI's comeback win 6-5 over Southern Illinois in game two.
SIU had a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth with runners on second and third with one out, but Jaye Hutcheson retired the next two batters to get out of the jam and give Daugharthy the game-winning opportunity.
The two runners were the 10th and 11th stranded in the game, and No. 19th and 20th on the day.
The Salukis led 5-2 with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but Kelly Papesh hit a three-run home run to left field to even the score 5-5 and send the game into extra-innings.
Southern jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Gorman scored on a stolen base throwing error in the top of the first.
The Salukis went up 3-0 in the third with a pair of runs from two wild pitches by UNI reliever Sarah Bakey, which allowed juniors Alicia Garza and Katie Wilson to score.
Just when everything seemed to be going the SIU's way the Panthers responded with a two-out, two-RBI double by Rachel Gerking in the bottom of the third to cut into SIU's lead, 3-2.
Following scoreless fourth and fifth innings, Garza blasted a two-run home run with Held on first to propel SIU back in front by three, 5-2, in the top of the sixth.
It was the team's first home runs since Katie Schmidt's solo homer against SIU-Edwarsville six games ago.
The second three-run cushion though went to no avail after UNI tied the game again in the bottom of the sixth.
Hutcheson earned the win and improved to 3-0, while Glosson, who had replaced starter Nikki Waters, suffered her second loss of the afternoon to fall to 4-4.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Larsen, Jen (9-3)
L: Glosson, Danielle (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Wagner, Katie 1
RBI: Gorman, Haley 1 ; Wagner, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Held, Chelsea 1 ; Wagner, Katie 1
CS: Wilson, Katie 1
Batting:
HR: Daigh, Mackenzie 1 ; Balduf, Brittney 1
RBI: Daigh, Mackenzie 2 ; Balduf, Brittney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Daigh, Mackenzie 1 ; Balduf, Brittney 1 ; Papesh, Kelly 1
SB: Machovec, Megan 1
HBP: Papesh, Kelly 1
