SIU falls twice at Drake

Sunday, April 3

Des Moines, Iowa

1:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

20-11, 5-3

Drake

19-11, 9-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Illinois	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	10	3
Drake	0	4	0	0	1	0	X	5	8	3

04/03/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

April 3, 2016

By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com

G1 Box | G2 Box

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Southern Illinois softball team fell in early holes and couldn't come back in two losses to Drake on Sunday. Drake ace Nicole Newman earned the win in the first game (4-0) and the save in the second (5-3), leading the Bulldogs (19-11, 9-0 MVC) to a third-straight Missouri Valley Conference series sweep.

"Nicole Newman threw really, really well," SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "She was MVC Freshman of the Year last year. She's a special pitcher. We had our opportunities. We had bases loaded in both games and didn't come through, but that's why (Newman) is who she is."

SIU (20-11, 5-3 MVC) had chances early in the opener. Southern got two on in the first inning and loaded the bases in the second, yet Newman got out of both jams unharmed. After that, SIU only managed three runners and one hit over the final five frames.

In the second game, Southern left three more over the first two innings. Meanwhile, Drake grabbed early leads with a first-inning run in the opener and a four-run second in the nightcap. Early leads in all three games fueled Newman, who struck out 28 SIU hitters in 15.1 innings over the weekend.

SIU nearly beat Newman in the seventh inning of the second game. Hanna Stam and Kelsey Gonzalez hit singles to lead off the inning. Both Sydney Jones and Caylee Cook drove in runs to turn a 5-1 game into a 5-3 ballgame with the tying run on second base. But Newman's 28th strikeout of the weekend ended the game.

"(Early leads) were big, especially with the pitching they have on the mound, but I also felt like our kids fought hard, battled and tried to make the adjustments that they needed to make," Blaylock said.

Drake (19-11, 9-0 MVC), the defending MVC regular-season champion, improved to 9-0 in the conference and has a three-game lead in the conference after three weekends. SIU (20-11, 5-3 MVC) fell 3.5 behind Drake but is only a half-game behind second-place Wichita State and Bradley, who are both 6-3 in the MVC.

"For a very young team, this was our first ultra-long road trip in the Valley," Blaylock said. "Our kids have some lessons to learn, but they're receptive. I enjoy working with them, and they know what we need to get started working on."

UP NEXT: SIU's seven-game road swing continues with a trip to UT Martin on Wednesday. The Salukis and Skyhawks faced each other in the season opener, which SIU won, 3-0. Southern's next MVC series is at Missouri State next weekend. The Salukis and Bears are scheduled for a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a single game at noon on Sunday.