Southern Illinois University
13-12, 0
Drake
6-19, 0
SIU Completes Three-Game Sweep of Drake
03/23/2014 | 12:00:00 | Softball
March 23, 2014
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois softball team was on a roll coming into Sunday's matchup with Drake, and the Salukis just kept getting hotter on their way to a six-inning 11-3 win over the Bulldogs. The win gave SIU its first three-game winning streak of the year and a series sweep of Drake for the first time since 2001.
"Sweeps in Valley play are really special," head coach Kerry Blaylock said. "You always want to win two out of three, but to actually finish off they way we did was huge for us."
Katie Bertelsen pitched right were she left off on Saturday, pitching a strong 4.2 innings and improving her record in MVC play to 2-1. When Drake threatened in the fifth, Taylor Orsburn also picked up where she left off on Saturday, shutting down the Bulldogs in relief innings.
The Salukis (13-12, 3-2 MVC) trailed only briefly. After Drake took a 1-0 lead after the bottom of the first inning, the Salukis struck right back with five combined runs in the second and third innings. Throughout the three game series, SIU trailed only twice and eliminated the deficit in their next time at bat.
"We can compete because of how we are offensively," Blaylock said. "We need to understand that we need to put people away if we have the opportunity. That's what I was really pleased with."
Each team got 10 hits in the six-inning game, but Southern manufactured its runs by being patient at the plate. SIU drew eight walks, while Southern's pitching didn't issue a single walk to Drake. Once on base, Southern base runners went 4-for-4 stealing bases and its hitters went 7-for-19 (.368) from the plate with runners on base.
Seven different Saluki batters got at least on hit on the afternoon, highlighted by Shaye Harre's 3-for-4, 3 RBI day. Jayna Spivey inched closer to Southern's all-time RBI record with two more on Sunday. Spivey has 131 career RBIs, just one shy of SIU's co-leaders in the category, Jamie Schuttek (1994-97) and Alicia Garza (132).
Spivey and Harre have been a force in the middle of the lineup for the Salukis over the last 12 games. Both players are hitting over .400 and have on-base percentages over .500 in that time, and the duo has combined for 33 RBIs, 10 doubles and five home runs. The two are playing so well that they're almost overshadowing Kelsey Gonzalez, Michelle Glenn, Allie VadeBoncouer and Kalyn Harker--who are all hitting better than .321 in the same 12-game span.
UP NEXT: The Salukis begin mid-week games with a doubleheader at Saint Louis on Wednesday. The first game is set to start at 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bertelsen, Katie (6-3)
L: Schmidt,R (5-9)
Batting:
2B: Harre, Shaye 1
3B: Harker, Kalyn 1
HR: Gonzalez, Kelsey 1
RBI: Spivey, Jayna 2 ; Harre, Shaye 3 ; Cook, Caylee 1 ; Harker, Kalyn 2 ; Ashton, Kelsea 1 ; Gonzalez, Kelsey 2
SH: Cook, Caylee 1 ; Harker, Kalyn 1
SF: Cook, Caylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Glenn, Michelle 2 ; Spivey, Jayna 1 ; Newbold, Lacey 1 ; Harre, Shaye 2 ; Kimball, Kara 1 ; Patterson, Merri Anne 1 ; Harris, Taylor 1 ; Gonzalez, Kelsey 2
SB: Glenn, Michelle 2 ; Womack, Brook 1 ; Harker, Kalyn 1
Batting:
2B: Nybo,H 1 ; Brewer,L 1
RBI: Buck,L 1 ; Nybo,H 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Pierce,A 1 ; Buck,L 1 ; Sowa,M 1
