Southern Illinois University
9-4
Michigan
8-3
Softball falls to No. 4 Michigan, defeats Auburn
02/27/2010 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Feb. 27, 2010
By Beth Miller
www.SIUSalukis.com
COLUMBUS, Ga. - Southern Illinois split on day two of the Leadoff Classic, falling to No. 4 Michigan while defeating Auburn.
The Wolverines defeated SIU, 10-2, in six innings of play, marking the Salukis second loss of the weekend, both to ranked opponents. Southern Illinois turned around to beat Auburn, 1-0, with Natalee Weissinger recording her first career home run with the Salukis.
No. 4 Michigan 10 Southern Illinois 2 (6)
The Salukis were unable to stop No. 4 Michigan's powerful offense, dropping the contest, 10-2, in six innings. The Wolverines hit six home runs on the day, earning ten runs off nine hits.
Michigan came out strong in the first inning as they hit three home runs to take an early 5-0 lead over SIU. With five runs on the board and no outs, Alicia Garza caught back-to-back pop-ups for the first two outs of the game, followed by a fly-out to Morgan Barchan to end the top of the inning.
The Salukis put a run on the board in the second inning, after a walk and two illegal pitches brought in a run for SIU. The third inning saw another Wolverine home run as Dorian Shaw hit her second of the game, giving Michigan a 6-1 lead.
SIU would answer in the bottom of the third as Haley Gorman earned the team's first him of the game. Mallory Duran singled to get on base, bringing Garza up to the plate. The senior second baseman singled to left field, driving in Gorman to score. The Salukis trailed 6-2, as Hanson walked to load the bases. SIU would leave the inning with three runners on base, but was able to put that extra run on the board to close the gap.
In the top of the sixth inning, Michigan loaded the bases as Angela Findlay hit a grand slam, marking her second home run of the game. The Wolverines won the game, 10-2, in six innings.
Gorman went 2-for-3 with one run, while Garza had one hit and one RBI in three at-bats. Danielle Glosson (5-3) was handed the loss, while Jordan Taylor (6-1) earned the win for Michigan.
"The Michigan loss was definitely better than the Florida State loss," Blaylock said. "Michigan I ranked fourth in the country, and they're deserving of that. They are the best hitting team we will face all season, no doubt about that. What I am most proud of is that we scored two runs off Jordan Taylor." Taylor, a junior All-American, entered the game against Southern Illinois boasting a 0.37 ERA.
"They hit the long ball," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "They're a great team, I have to give them credit. But I did think we played better and I think that set up the Auburn win."
Southern Illinois 1 Auburn 0
A quiet offensive on both sides left the matchup between the Salukis and Tigers scoreless until Natalee Weissinger homered for a 1-0 lead.
Both teams were presented with the chance to score early in the game, but neither team was able to put a run on the board.
The Salukis stepped up in the top of the fifth inning with a single from Haley Gorman, who then advanced to third on an error as Morgan Barchan reached first. The Tigers made a pitching change, bringing in Angel Brunner to replace Jenee Loree who struck out a career-high nine batters. Alicia Garza flew out to center field, leaving the top of the inning with no runs.
Auburn got runners on first and second in the bottom of the fifth inning, but a double play would end the inning before the Tigers could score.
The game would not remain scoreless for long as Weissinger drove one over the left field wall for her first career home run at Southern Illinois, giving SIU a 1-0 lead.
With two on base and two outs Auburn tried to comeback in the bottom of the seventh, put first baseman Alicia Junker caught a pop-up in the infield to end the game. The Salukis grab the win, 1-0, improving to 10-4 on the season.
Alex Peters earns the win for the Salukis, improving to 4-1 on the season. Peters struck out two batters and allowed only one walk."
"Alex has done a great job," Blaylock said. "She came in and did what we asked, which was get ahead in the count and throw her pitches. She's throwing with a lot more confidence. I went to her early, it does not affect Brittney Lang's ability by any means, but I felt like we needed to keep the game close because I knew they had Anna Thompson in the wings and we needed to score."
SIU will wrap up play at the Leadoff Classic tomorrow morning with a matchup against NC State at 9 a.m. CT. "It's who you face in the circle as to what type of game you get," Blaylock said. "NC State's No. 1 pitcher is very good and they're a really good team. I think we go out and compete hard again and keep it close, just like we play. We're 10-4 and have played a really tough schedule, so I'm happy about what we've done so far."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: J. Taylor (6-1)
L: Glosson, Danielle (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Evans 1
HR: A. Findlay 2 ; Viefhaus 1 ; Shaw 2
RBI: A. Findlay 6 ; Viefhaus 1 ; Shaw 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Evans 2 ; A. Findlay 2 ; Viefhaus 1 ; Crummey 1 ; Shaw 2 ; Kirkpatrick 1 ; Bausher 1
Batting:
RBI: Garza, Alicia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gorman, Haley 1 ; Ebstein, Jenene 1
