Friday, February 10
Hammond, LA
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
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University of Nevada
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7
8
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
0
0
1
0
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1
0
0
2
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2
University of Nevada
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0
2
0
1
3
5
0
Softball splits on day one of Lion Classic
02/10/2017 | 10:48:00 | Softball
HAMMOND, LA. - The Southern Illinois University softball team split a pair of games on Day One of the Lion Classic. SIU fell to Nevada, 3-2, in eight innings, and blanked Coppin State, 11-0, in five innings.
The Salukis started their day with the Wolfpack, who were coming off a loss to UT-Martin. SIU was able to get runners on base in the first two innings, but were unable to plate a run. They broke through in the top of third with a no-doubter home run by senior Jessa Thomas.Â
"I was really happy with the energy we started with," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We competed really hard and the kids played really good. I was so happy for Jessa Thomas."
Brianna Jones got the start for SIU and didn't give up a hit in the first three innings. Going into the fourth inning with a one run lead, Nevada tabbed their first hit off of Jones, a two-out double. Jones induced a ground ball out to end the inning. SIU went down in order in the top of the fourth to bring Nevada back to the dish. The Wolfpack started off the inning with a walk and a single to get things going. The Salukis were able to grab a quick out with runners on second and third. UN singled once more to load the bases, but Jones was able to end the frame with two pop outs, leaving all three runners on base.
"Bri threw fantastic today," Blaylock said. "With it being the first game, we had to see where things were going to go. Our pitching definitely was great today."
Savannah Fisher started off the top of the sixth with a monster home run to give SIU a 2-0 lead. It was the third and final hit of the game for SIU. Nevada quickly tied things up in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run shot to center field to knot things up, 2-2. Neither team was able to get anything going in the seventh inning, forcing extra innings. The international tiebreaker rule came into play in extras, placing  a runner at second base for both teams. The Salukis made contact on all three at bats, but were unable to get anything to fall. Nevada took advantage of the free runner at second, moving her over with a single, then hitting a ball hard to the right side forcing an error to bring in the game-winning run.Â
"I hated that Nevada got away from us," Blaylock said. "I feel partially responsible for a pitch call that I made. But it was the first game. For not being outside that much or having a lot of live scrimmage looks, we played fantastic. Overall, we were aggressive and this is just one game out of 56."
Southern turned right around for their second game of the day against Coppin State. In the top of the first, the Salukis flashed some leather to get things going. After a lead-off walk by Savanna Dover, she pitched a ground ball to Maddy Vermejan. The freshman was able to get it off a good hop, tag the runner, and throw out the batter at first. The double play killed the momentum for CSU, as they were unable to get any more runners on.Â
In the bottom of the first SIU started off just as they did the game before, with a single from Susie Baranski. Senior Merri Anne Patterson quickly joined the fun, doubling to tge right side of the field to put runners at second and third for SIU. After two quick outs Haley Andrus lined a ball up the middle to score both runners and give the Salukis a 2-0 lead.Â
The top of the second started off on a good note for Coppin State, getting two singles to put a runner in scoring position with two outs. Dover turned things around quickly, picking up an out on a great defensive play by Baranski to end the top half. SIU tacked on one more in the bottom of the second on a triple by Sydney Jones and a sacrifice fly from Kyleigh Decker.Â
"We were devastated to lose that first game," Blaylock said. "You could see it in their eyes that they were going to bounce back. I was really pleased with how they responded. They jumped all over Coppin State early offensively and didn't look back."
SIU kept the momentum rolling in the third, getting baserunners on immediately to set things up for Fisher. Once again, Fisher went deep for her second home run of the day. The three-run shot made it 6-0 Salukis. S. Jones didn't stop the party as she went deep on a full count to make it 7-0. Kyleigh Decker was the next to step in the batters box and she made it 10-0 with a home run of her own.Â
SIU added one more run after the third inning to extend its lead to 11, and that was more than enough for Dover to wrap up the game. CSU finished with only four hits and was unable to get a run.
"This is a team that is going to build throughout the year," Blaylock said. "I think we're going to pretty good. We just have to go one game at a time. If we play with energy and aggressiveness good things will happen."
SIU finished the day with five homevruns and three doubles, totaling 14 hits. Dover and Jones combined to pitch 12 innings, allowing only nine hits.
SIU will be back in action at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning to play Nicholls State.
The Salukis started their day with the Wolfpack, who were coming off a loss to UT-Martin. SIU was able to get runners on base in the first two innings, but were unable to plate a run. They broke through in the top of third with a no-doubter home run by senior Jessa Thomas.Â
"I was really happy with the energy we started with," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We competed really hard and the kids played really good. I was so happy for Jessa Thomas."
Brianna Jones got the start for SIU and didn't give up a hit in the first three innings. Going into the fourth inning with a one run lead, Nevada tabbed their first hit off of Jones, a two-out double. Jones induced a ground ball out to end the inning. SIU went down in order in the top of the fourth to bring Nevada back to the dish. The Wolfpack started off the inning with a walk and a single to get things going. The Salukis were able to grab a quick out with runners on second and third. UN singled once more to load the bases, but Jones was able to end the frame with two pop outs, leaving all three runners on base.
"Bri threw fantastic today," Blaylock said. "With it being the first game, we had to see where things were going to go. Our pitching definitely was great today."
Savannah Fisher started off the top of the sixth with a monster home run to give SIU a 2-0 lead. It was the third and final hit of the game for SIU. Nevada quickly tied things up in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run shot to center field to knot things up, 2-2. Neither team was able to get anything going in the seventh inning, forcing extra innings. The international tiebreaker rule came into play in extras, placing  a runner at second base for both teams. The Salukis made contact on all three at bats, but were unable to get anything to fall. Nevada took advantage of the free runner at second, moving her over with a single, then hitting a ball hard to the right side forcing an error to bring in the game-winning run.Â
"I hated that Nevada got away from us," Blaylock said. "I feel partially responsible for a pitch call that I made. But it was the first game. For not being outside that much or having a lot of live scrimmage looks, we played fantastic. Overall, we were aggressive and this is just one game out of 56."
Southern turned right around for their second game of the day against Coppin State. In the top of the first, the Salukis flashed some leather to get things going. After a lead-off walk by Savanna Dover, she pitched a ground ball to Maddy Vermejan. The freshman was able to get it off a good hop, tag the runner, and throw out the batter at first. The double play killed the momentum for CSU, as they were unable to get any more runners on.Â
In the bottom of the first SIU started off just as they did the game before, with a single from Susie Baranski. Senior Merri Anne Patterson quickly joined the fun, doubling to tge right side of the field to put runners at second and third for SIU. After two quick outs Haley Andrus lined a ball up the middle to score both runners and give the Salukis a 2-0 lead.Â
The top of the second started off on a good note for Coppin State, getting two singles to put a runner in scoring position with two outs. Dover turned things around quickly, picking up an out on a great defensive play by Baranski to end the top half. SIU tacked on one more in the bottom of the second on a triple by Sydney Jones and a sacrifice fly from Kyleigh Decker.Â
"We were devastated to lose that first game," Blaylock said. "You could see it in their eyes that they were going to bounce back. I was really pleased with how they responded. They jumped all over Coppin State early offensively and didn't look back."
SIU kept the momentum rolling in the third, getting baserunners on immediately to set things up for Fisher. Once again, Fisher went deep for her second home run of the day. The three-run shot made it 6-0 Salukis. S. Jones didn't stop the party as she went deep on a full count to make it 7-0. Kyleigh Decker was the next to step in the batters box and she made it 10-0 with a home run of her own.Â
SIU added one more run after the third inning to extend its lead to 11, and that was more than enough for Dover to wrap up the game. CSU finished with only four hits and was unable to get a run.
"This is a team that is going to build throughout the year," Blaylock said. "I think we're going to pretty good. We just have to go one game at a time. If we play with energy and aggressiveness good things will happen."
SIU finished the day with five homevruns and three doubles, totaling 14 hits. Dover and Jones combined to pitch 12 innings, allowing only nine hits.
SIU will be back in action at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning to play Nicholls State.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SARGENT, Kali (1-0)
L: Jones, Brianna (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Thomas, Jessa 1 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
RBI: Thomas, Jessa 1 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Thomas, Jessa 1 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
SB: Vermejan, Maddy 1
CS: Baranski, Susie 1
Batting:
2B: PURCELL, Jennifer 1
HR: MENDEZ, Alyssa 1
RBI: HANSEN, E 1 ; MENDEZ, Alyssa 2
Base Running:
RUNS: PURCELL, Jennifer 1 ; MENDEZ, Alyssa 1 ; MARTINEZ, Raquel 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
INF
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