Salukis sweep a pair at FGCU Four Points Invitational

Friday, February 19

Fort Myers, Fla.

8:00 AM

Southern Illinois University

4-2

LIU Brooklyn

3-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Illinois	0	0	7	0	0	0	2	9	11	1
Long Island Brooklyn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2

02/19/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Feb. 19, 2016

By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com

G1 Box | G2 Box

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Southern Illinois softball team swept two games at the Four Points Softball Invitational, hosted by Florida Gulf Coast, on Friday. The Salukis (5-2) shut out Long Island-Brooklyn in the opener, 9-0, and beat Marshall, 8-6, in the second game.

Marshall (3-1) was a signature win for the Salukis. The Herd finished 35-15 last season and returned its best players from that team. Jordan Dixon, who was a 33-game winner last season, had an ERA under 1.00 before Southern tagged her for five earned runs in five innings. Morgan Zerkle, who hit .506 last year (2nd in NCAA), was set down twice in a row during a stretch where Saluki starter Savanna Dover retired 11-straight batters, allowing the Salukis to turn a 2-0 deficit into an 8-2 lead.

The Herd hit .353 as a team in 2015 and had four .320+ hitters returning (two returners hit .429 or better). Marshall got four hits in the first inning, three in the seventh, and only one in between against Dover (2-1). Marshall scored four in the seventh to make the game interesting, but freshman Brianna Jones came in to shut the door and get her first career save.

"Dover threw fantastic," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "Marshall does a great job playing small ball and putting the ball in play. She just hung in there and made the big pitches in the big situations."

In the opener, Jones pitched her third-straight complete-game shutout in the win over LIU Brooklyn. Jones (3-1) became the fastest pitcher in the country to throw three shutouts this season, and the offense put up seven runs in the third inning to blow it open.

"Brianna set the tone by throwing strikes," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "LIU beat some good teams last weekend, and we highly respect that program. Bri did a great job getting strikes and keeping them from getting started."

Southern's offense outscored opponents 15-0 in the middle five innings on Friday. Against LIU, Southern Illinois struck out four times and recorded only two hits the first time through the lineup. Then, the Salukis went 6-for-8 with an HBP the second time through to put up the seven-run third. Against Marshall, SIU managed only two hits through four innings, then reached in 5-of-8 plate appearances in the four-run fifth. Dixon had allowed only two earned runs in 16 innings this season before SIU put up five in five innings this afternoon.

"We did a great job making adjustments at-bat to at-bat," Blaylock said. "Both LIU and Marshall held us in check the first time through. We kept hanging in there, making great adjustments; and we got great swings those second and third times through the order."

SIU faces Florida Gulf Coast, who is hosting the tournament, Saturday at 11:15 a.m.

NOTES: Brianna Jones has yet to allow an earned run in 22.0 collegiate innings...Jones became the fastest pitcher in DI softball to three shutouts in 2016...Jones has thrown complete-game shutouts in all three of her collegiate starts...SIU was held to three runs over two games on opening day; since then, SIU is averaging 8.2 runs per game...SIU is outscoring opponents 44-13 this season...Freshman Eyrika Brandenburg went 4-for-7 (.571) today and scored four runs in her first two games batting leadoff...Brandenburg, Kelsey Gonzalez (3-6), Jessica Heese (2-4), Caylee Cook (1-2) and Hanna Stam (2-5) all hit .400 or better today...All 12 of SIU's eligible position players have at least one RBI this season...Southern's four shutouts already in 2016 matches the most in any season since 2011.