Southern Illinois University
14-7, 0
Wichita State
6-18, 0
Softball sweeps Wichita State to begin MVC play
03/17/2012 | 12:00:00 | Softball
March 17, 2012
By Megan Kramper
SIUSalukis.com
WICHITA, Kan. - The Southern Illinois softball team found its offense again as it began Missouri Valley Conference play with a sweep of Wichita State Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.
The Salukis (14-7, 2-0 MVC) combined for 23 hits and drew 13 walks on the afternoon as they squeaked past the Shockers (6-18, 0-2 MVC) in game one, 11-8, and shut them out in game two, 5-0.
"I think the thing that was really consistent for us all day was our offense -- we really hit the ball well," SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We had just one bad inning pitching-wise, but the pitchers were able to figure it out and settled down and did a good job."
Game one started off in the Salukis' favor as Jayna Spivey drove in two runs off an RBI single. The Shockers retaliated in the second with a run off a Melanie Jaegers single.
The Dawgs padded their lead with a Shocker error and Meredith Wilson RBI single in the third but a disastrous bottom of the inning allowed the home team to score seven runs off four hits, including two home runs and three walks off starting pitcher Katie Bertelsen and relief pitcher Alyssa Wunderlich.
Both teams fell silent in the fourth, but Southern would score a run in every inning after that. Mallory Duran-Sellers launched her third home run of the season in the fifth, a three-run shot that tied the game.
Allie VadeBoncouer started off the sixth by hitting her fifth long ball of the season to recapture the lead and the Dawgs never let up.
Eight Salukis had hits in the game as Spivey had three RBI while Wilson and Duran-Sellers added two hits apiece.
"I think that our offense can set the tone for us," Blaylock said. "We have an identity about our team that we're not afraid if people score some runs on us because our bats can carry us."
Bertelsen would re-enter the game and pick up the win to move to 6-3 on the season as she struck out three in the effort.
In game two, Brittney Lang threw the first shutout of the season as the Dawgs broke loose for 13 hits in a 5-0 victory.
Lang threw her fourth complete game in 2012 as she struck out four and improved her record to 3-3. It marked Lang's first shutout since her freshman campaign when she blanked Fairfield in a 13-0 run-rule win on March 14, 2010.
"(Lang) is hard on herself and hard on every pitch she throws, and if we can get her to relax and let her natural ability take over, she will be a pretty special player," Blaylock said.
The Dawgs added runs in every inning but two as they started the game with a VadeBoncouer RBI double and capitalized off an error in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
Kalyn Harker provided a spark when she smashed her first career home run, a solo shot in the fourth, followed by a Haley Gorman RBI double in the sixth.
Spivey hit her third home run of the season in the seventh to add more insurance to the Salukis' lead.
Every starter in the lineup had a hit, highlighted by two hits each from Gorman, VadeBoncouer, Spivey, and Orsburn.
The Salukis and the Shockers will wrap up the series tomorrow with a single game at noon. They will look to sweep the Shockers for the second-consecutive year.
"It would be big to sweep and anytime you get close you need to do that," Blaylock said.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lang, Brittney (3-3)
L: Anderson (3-11)
Batting:
2B: Gorman, Haley 1 ; VadeBoncouer, Allie 1 ; Orsburn, Taylor 1
HR: Spivey, Jayna 1 ; Harker, Kalyn 1
RBI: Gorman, Haley 1 ; VadeBoncouer, Allie 1 ; Spivey, Jayna 1 ; Harker, Kalyn 1
SH: Ashton, Kelsea 1 ; VadeBoncouer, Allie 1 ; Junker, Alicia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duran-Sellers, Mallory 1 ; Gorman, Haley 1 ; Spivey, Jayna 1 ; Harker, Kalyn 2
SB: Duran-Sellers, Mallory 1
CS: Duran-Sellers, Mallory 1
Batting:
2B: Stuever 1
SH: Osborn 1
Base Running:
HBP: Stuever 1
