Saturday, February 17
Columbia, S.C.
2:00 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
4-2
13
vs
4
Georgetown University
3-6
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
2
6
0
1
4
13
15
0
Georgetown
0
0
0
0
4
4
7
1
Salukis split on second day of Gamecock Invitational
02/17/2018 | 8:38:00 | Softball
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Salukis softball (4-3) split on the second day of the Gamecock Invitational after crushing Georgetown 13-4 and dropping one against South Carolina 2-0.
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Southern lived and died by the long ball in both games. The team continued to crush homeruns as the team hit its 10th and 11th home runs of the season in the first game of the day. In the second, South Carolina hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning that were enough to win the game for the Gamecocks.
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"We came out ready to play today," Blaylock said. "It was a good day overall. I was really impressed with our bats in the first game. Katelyn Massa was huge today, and you can go on down the line. I was very, very impressed with our defensive efforts today. I thought we did a great job."
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In the first game, sophomore Katelyn Massa started the game the same way she did on Friday, with a home run in her first at-bat, this time it was a two-run shot to center to give Southern a 2-0 lead over Georgetown.
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In the next inning, freshman Maris Boelens and sophomore Maddy Vermejan hit back-to-back singles and a throwing error on Vermejan's hit allowed both runners to advance to second and third. Sophomore Susie Baranski drew a walk then Massa struck again, this time with a grand slam to center to put Southern up 6-0.
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Massa ended the day 2-2 with a walk, 2 home runs and 6 RBI. She is hitting .350 on the season with a team-leading four home runs and 10 RBI.
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The home run ran Georgetown's starter, freshman London Diller from the game after just an inning of work. Despite the new pitcher, the Salukis were not done scoring in the top of the second. Senior Haley Andrus hit a one-out single that scored freshman Jenny Jansen and senior Sydney Jones to make the score 8-0 after just two innings.
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In the fourth, the Salukis tacked on another when senior Savannah Fisher singled into right center to score Kyleigh Decker from second.
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One inning later, the Salukis had another offensive outburst. With one runner on, Southern mounted a two-out rally to score four more times in the inning. First, Decker hit a single to the shortstop to score Vermejan from third. In the next at-bat Jansen singled to left to score freshman Shelby Hodo. Then Andrus hit a 2-RBI double to left that scored Jansen and Decker.
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Andrus, who made her second start of the season, went 2-3 with 4 RBI.
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Southern led 13-0 following the top of the fifth.
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In the bottom of the fifth, Georgetown erased what would have been junior Brianna Jones' first shutout of the year when the Hoyas scored four runs in the frame. Their offensive outburst wasn't enough to avoid the run-rule being in effect however, Southern won 13-4 in five innings.
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Jones struck out 4 and gave up 4 earned runs in the game earning her 4th win of the year. She struck out 4 and only walked 1 in the game.
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"Bri only had one bad inning. If we get a call at second base and get the next two kids out, she's out of the inning," Blaylock said. "I thought she threw well."
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The win was Blaylock's 632nd of her career. She is now one from tying Kay Brechtelsbauer for the all-time lead at SIU and two from passing her.
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In the second game against South Carolina, The Salukis pitched freshman Megan Brown in senior Savanna Dover's absence. Dover was at home in Georgia dealing with the passing of her grandmother. Â
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In the bottom of the first, Brown allowed back-to-back home runs to South Carolina's Mackenzie Boesel and Kennedy Clark. The two homeruns were the only runs scored in the game.
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Brown settled in after allowing the two homers in the first. She threw 4.0 innings allowing 5 hits and 2 runs and was tagged with the loss. Jones re-entered in the second game. She struck out one and allowed one hit in 2.0 innings.
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"When you face adversity by not having one of your important players here ready to go and you have someone like a freshman step up and throw the way she did, it gives us a big lift," Blaylock said. "I thought Bri threw fantastic against South Carolina. Her and Megan did so well with Savanna being gone."
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The Salukis close the Gamecock Invitational tomorrow morning with a game against Michigan State that starts at 10 a.m. eastern time, 9 a.m. central time. Southern beat Michigan State last year on a neutral field.
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"We will be ready to go tomorrow. We're playing a good team in Michigan State. We will just go out and battle again," Blaylock said.
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Salukis softball (4-3) split on the second day of the Gamecock Invitational after crushing Georgetown 13-4 and dropping one against South Carolina 2-0.
Â
Southern lived and died by the long ball in both games. The team continued to crush homeruns as the team hit its 10th and 11th home runs of the season in the first game of the day. In the second, South Carolina hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning that were enough to win the game for the Gamecocks.
Â
"We came out ready to play today," Blaylock said. "It was a good day overall. I was really impressed with our bats in the first game. Katelyn Massa was huge today, and you can go on down the line. I was very, very impressed with our defensive efforts today. I thought we did a great job."
Â
In the first game, sophomore Katelyn Massa started the game the same way she did on Friday, with a home run in her first at-bat, this time it was a two-run shot to center to give Southern a 2-0 lead over Georgetown.
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In the next inning, freshman Maris Boelens and sophomore Maddy Vermejan hit back-to-back singles and a throwing error on Vermejan's hit allowed both runners to advance to second and third. Sophomore Susie Baranski drew a walk then Massa struck again, this time with a grand slam to center to put Southern up 6-0.
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Massa ended the day 2-2 with a walk, 2 home runs and 6 RBI. She is hitting .350 on the season with a team-leading four home runs and 10 RBI.
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The home run ran Georgetown's starter, freshman London Diller from the game after just an inning of work. Despite the new pitcher, the Salukis were not done scoring in the top of the second. Senior Haley Andrus hit a one-out single that scored freshman Jenny Jansen and senior Sydney Jones to make the score 8-0 after just two innings.
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In the fourth, the Salukis tacked on another when senior Savannah Fisher singled into right center to score Kyleigh Decker from second.
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One inning later, the Salukis had another offensive outburst. With one runner on, Southern mounted a two-out rally to score four more times in the inning. First, Decker hit a single to the shortstop to score Vermejan from third. In the next at-bat Jansen singled to left to score freshman Shelby Hodo. Then Andrus hit a 2-RBI double to left that scored Jansen and Decker.
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Andrus, who made her second start of the season, went 2-3 with 4 RBI.
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Southern led 13-0 following the top of the fifth.
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In the bottom of the fifth, Georgetown erased what would have been junior Brianna Jones' first shutout of the year when the Hoyas scored four runs in the frame. Their offensive outburst wasn't enough to avoid the run-rule being in effect however, Southern won 13-4 in five innings.
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Jones struck out 4 and gave up 4 earned runs in the game earning her 4th win of the year. She struck out 4 and only walked 1 in the game.
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"Bri only had one bad inning. If we get a call at second base and get the next two kids out, she's out of the inning," Blaylock said. "I thought she threw well."
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The win was Blaylock's 632nd of her career. She is now one from tying Kay Brechtelsbauer for the all-time lead at SIU and two from passing her.
Â
In the second game against South Carolina, The Salukis pitched freshman Megan Brown in senior Savanna Dover's absence. Dover was at home in Georgia dealing with the passing of her grandmother. Â
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In the bottom of the first, Brown allowed back-to-back home runs to South Carolina's Mackenzie Boesel and Kennedy Clark. The two homeruns were the only runs scored in the game.
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Brown settled in after allowing the two homers in the first. She threw 4.0 innings allowing 5 hits and 2 runs and was tagged with the loss. Jones re-entered in the second game. She struck out one and allowed one hit in 2.0 innings.
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"When you face adversity by not having one of your important players here ready to go and you have someone like a freshman step up and throw the way she did, it gives us a big lift," Blaylock said. "I thought Bri threw fantastic against South Carolina. Her and Megan did so well with Savanna being gone."
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The Salukis close the Gamecock Invitational tomorrow morning with a game against Michigan State that starts at 10 a.m. eastern time, 9 a.m. central time. Southern beat Michigan State last year on a neutral field.
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"We will be ready to go tomorrow. We're playing a good team in Michigan State. We will just go out and battle again," Blaylock said.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Brianna (4-0)
L: Diller, L. (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Andrus, Haley 1
HR: Massa, Katelyn 2
RBI: Massa, Katelyn 6 ; Decker, Kyleigh 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Andrus, Haley 4 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vermejan, Maddy 3 ; Baranski, Susie 1 ; Massa, Katelyn 2 ; Jones, Sydney 1 ; Hodo, Shelby 1 ; Decker, Kyleigh 2 ; Jansen, Jenny 2 ; Boelens, Maris 1
SB: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Jones, Sydney 1 ; Decker, Kyleigh 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1
HBP: Decker, Kyleigh 1 ; Andrus, Haley 1
Batting:
2B: Holiday, N. 1
RBI: Belknap, M. 2 ; Holiday, N. 1 ; Jones, S. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Belknap, M. 1 ; Jones, R. 1 ; Dolby, A. 1 ; Stevens, S. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
6
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT/P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
C/DP
/ Softball
INF
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