Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball to host Saluki Invitational this Saturday and Sunday
03/11/2011 | 12:00:00 | Softball
March 11, 2011
By Megan Kramper
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois softball team will host its second tournament of the season when it opens play in the Saluki Invitational on Saturday.
The Salukis welcome DePaul and Illinois-Chicago in the two day tournament, as each team will play the other twice in the six game series at Charlotte West Stadium.
Southern is coming off a 10-0 victory over nearby Southeast Missouri State in the teams first run ruled victory of the season.
For more information on the tournament or live stats, please visit the tournament central page on the right side of this page.
2011 Saluki Invitational
Saturday, March 12, 2011 11 a.m. - Illinois-Chicago vs. DePaul
1 p.m. - SIU vs. DePaul
3 p.m. - SIU vs. Illinois-Chicago
Sunday, March 13, 2011 10 a.m. - DePaul vs. Illinois-Chicago
12 p.m. - SIU vs. Illinois-Chicago
2 p.m. - SIU vs. DePaul
SALUKIS HOST SALUKI INVITATIONAL
For the second weekend in a row, the Southern Illinois softball team will host a weekend tournament. This time the Dawgs host the Saluki Invitational as other teams include Illinois-Chicago and DePaul. Last weekend, the Salukis hosted the Coach B Classic as they invited No. 24 Kentucky, Purdue, and Wright State. This will be the last non-conference tournament of the season as the Salukis begin MVC play on Mar. 19-20 when they host the Wichita State Shockers.
ON DECK: ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Illinois-Chicago come into the weekend series with a 5-9 record with losses to No. 24 Auburn (3-2) and two losses No. 10 Oklahoma (5-2 and 9-1 (6)) last weekend. Junior outfielder Melinda Macias leads the Flames offense with a .381 batting average, two doubles, and sevent RBIs and senior outfielder Carly DeMarco leads the team in RBIs with 12.
ON DECK: DEPAUL
The Blue Demons are a force to be reckoned with with a 11-2 record and have received votes in both Top 25 polls every week of the 2011 season. Freshman pitcher Kristen Verdun leads DePaul on the mound with an impressive 1.56 ERA with a 6-1 record with two shutouts, two saves, and 43 strikeouts in 54.0 innings pitched. Also a force at the plate, Verdun is hitting .303 and leads the team in home runs with four. She was named Big East Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 21.
SOUTHERN POUNDS SEMO, 10-0
In their first run-ruled victory of the sesaon, the Salukis defeated Southeast Missouri State 10-0 in five innings on Wednesday in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Led by senior catcher Cristina Trapani who knocked her third home run out of the park as she score a season-high five RBIs. The Redhawks pitchers issued nine walks on the afternoon and gave up seven runs in the contest. Mallory Natalee Weissinger, Haley Gorman, and Taylor Orsburn all earned a hit in the game. This was the Salukis' 15th straight win over SEMO, dating back to 2001.
