Sunday, March 18
Carbondale, Ill.
12:00 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
16-10, 2-1
5
vs
4
Loyola University Chicago
13-11, 1-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Loyola - Chicago
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
4
11
1
Southern Illinois
0
0
3
1
0
0
0
1
5
14
1
Vermejan's walk-off clinches series win over Loyola
03/18/2018 | 4:52:00 | Softball
Saluki softball pulled out a scrappy 5-4 victory in extra innings over Loyola to clinch the MVC-opening weekend series.
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Sophomore Maddy Vermejan's late-game heroics put Southern on top for good in the bottom of the eighth inning when she hit a double off the wall in center to score sophomore Kyleigh Decker from second.
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"When you get to a Sunday game, it is all hand on deck," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We gutted it out. I'm really proud of the kids because we could have folded and we didn't. We kept putting pressure on them. It was a really, really good day today."
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The day started off with a ceremony honoring Blaylock for her program-record-breaking 634th win which she earned against UConn on Feb. 23. The ceremony, which was a surprise to Blaylock, included Kay Brechtelsbauer, a Saluki Hall of Famer and the previous holder of the program wins record. The ceremony concluded with a video in which many of Blaylock's former assistant coaches and players spoke about their experience with Blaylock.
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"It was very heartwarming. I teared up a lot," Blaylock said. "They're all good people and I'm blessed to be around them. This is so not about me. It's about everybody else. I don't play the game, those kids do. We just try to put them in good positions."
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The game remained scoreless into the third inning when Saluki sophomore Katelyn Massa crushed a pitch from Loyola's starter Kiley Jones over the fence in left-field for a three-run home run.
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Massa had a huge week at the plate for the Salukis. The sophomore catcher hit .692 with a home run, 2 doubles and 10 RBI. She also caught two runners stealing.
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Southern extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth when Vermejan hit her first of two RBI doubles in the game to make the score 4-0.
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In the next inning, Loyola answered when it strung together two hits and scored two two runs to cut the lead in half. In the top of the sixth Loyola tied it by scoring two more runs on two hits.
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In the bottom of the sixth inning, Southern nearly took a 5-4 lead when Vermejan flied out to center. Decker, who was standing on third at the time, charged for home and nearly beat the tag, but she was ruled out by the home plate umpire. The double play ended Southern's chance to score.
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In the top of the seventh, Loyola nearly took the lead on a similar play. With a runner on third, Loyola's Ashley Parenti dropped down a bunt to Southern's pitcher Brianna Jones. Jones underhanded the ball to Massa who got the tag down just in time to save what could have been the decisive run.
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The Salukis failed to score in the seventh and held Loyola hitless in the top of the 8th.
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In the bottom of the eighth, senior Haley Andrus hit a one-out single to give Southern the go-ahead run. In the next at-bat, Decker hit into a fielder's choice. Senior Savannah Fisher drew a walk to allow Vermejan to step to the plate with runners on first and second. She drove a changeup to the wall in center to score Decker and secure a series victory for Southern.
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"I had a feeling the changeup was coming," Vermejan said. "You know it's coming at least once an at-bat, and I just had a feeling. I told myself, 'I'm going for it', and it happened."
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Vermejan hit in the leadoff spot all weekend moving up from the two-hole. She hit .583 on the weekend with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 5 runs scored.
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"Maddy is such a balanced and even-keeled kid. She's the one you want up in those situations," Blaylock said. "It's not that the pressure doesn't get to her, it's just that she never gets too high or too low and that's exactly what you need in that situation."
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Junior pitcher Brianna Jones earned the win to move to 14-1 on the season. She would have earned her 13th complete game of the season had she not been removed from the game in the top of the sixth. Jones re-entered later in the same inning. She struck out 6 Ramblers on the day and is one strikeout from the century mark this season.
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With the win, the Salukis improved to 16-10 on the season and 2-1 in MVC play. Southern is currently sitting six games above .500 and have won eight of the last 10 games. Southern is 3-0 this season in extra-inning games and improved to 12-0 in games when they score first.
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Southern is back in action on Wednesday when the Salukis head to St. Louis for a mid-week clash against SLU. Next weekend, Valley play continues when the Salukis host the defending MVC regular season co-champions, the Illinois State Redbirds.
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Sophomore Maddy Vermejan's late-game heroics put Southern on top for good in the bottom of the eighth inning when she hit a double off the wall in center to score sophomore Kyleigh Decker from second.
Â
"When you get to a Sunday game, it is all hand on deck," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We gutted it out. I'm really proud of the kids because we could have folded and we didn't. We kept putting pressure on them. It was a really, really good day today."
Â
The day started off with a ceremony honoring Blaylock for her program-record-breaking 634th win which she earned against UConn on Feb. 23. The ceremony, which was a surprise to Blaylock, included Kay Brechtelsbauer, a Saluki Hall of Famer and the previous holder of the program wins record. The ceremony concluded with a video in which many of Blaylock's former assistant coaches and players spoke about their experience with Blaylock.
Â
"It was very heartwarming. I teared up a lot," Blaylock said. "They're all good people and I'm blessed to be around them. This is so not about me. It's about everybody else. I don't play the game, those kids do. We just try to put them in good positions."
Â
The game remained scoreless into the third inning when Saluki sophomore Katelyn Massa crushed a pitch from Loyola's starter Kiley Jones over the fence in left-field for a three-run home run.
Â
Massa had a huge week at the plate for the Salukis. The sophomore catcher hit .692 with a home run, 2 doubles and 10 RBI. She also caught two runners stealing.
Â
Southern extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth when Vermejan hit her first of two RBI doubles in the game to make the score 4-0.
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In the next inning, Loyola answered when it strung together two hits and scored two two runs to cut the lead in half. In the top of the sixth Loyola tied it by scoring two more runs on two hits.
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In the bottom of the sixth inning, Southern nearly took a 5-4 lead when Vermejan flied out to center. Decker, who was standing on third at the time, charged for home and nearly beat the tag, but she was ruled out by the home plate umpire. The double play ended Southern's chance to score.
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In the top of the seventh, Loyola nearly took the lead on a similar play. With a runner on third, Loyola's Ashley Parenti dropped down a bunt to Southern's pitcher Brianna Jones. Jones underhanded the ball to Massa who got the tag down just in time to save what could have been the decisive run.
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The Salukis failed to score in the seventh and held Loyola hitless in the top of the 8th.
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In the bottom of the eighth, senior Haley Andrus hit a one-out single to give Southern the go-ahead run. In the next at-bat, Decker hit into a fielder's choice. Senior Savannah Fisher drew a walk to allow Vermejan to step to the plate with runners on first and second. She drove a changeup to the wall in center to score Decker and secure a series victory for Southern.
Â
"I had a feeling the changeup was coming," Vermejan said. "You know it's coming at least once an at-bat, and I just had a feeling. I told myself, 'I'm going for it', and it happened."
Â
Vermejan hit in the leadoff spot all weekend moving up from the two-hole. She hit .583 on the weekend with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 5 runs scored.
Â
"Maddy is such a balanced and even-keeled kid. She's the one you want up in those situations," Blaylock said. "It's not that the pressure doesn't get to her, it's just that she never gets too high or too low and that's exactly what you need in that situation."
Â
Junior pitcher Brianna Jones earned the win to move to 14-1 on the season. She would have earned her 13th complete game of the season had she not been removed from the game in the top of the sixth. Jones re-entered later in the same inning. She struck out 6 Ramblers on the day and is one strikeout from the century mark this season.
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With the win, the Salukis improved to 16-10 on the season and 2-1 in MVC play. Southern is currently sitting six games above .500 and have won eight of the last 10 games. Southern is 3-0 this season in extra-inning games and improved to 12-0 in games when they score first.
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Southern is back in action on Wednesday when the Salukis head to St. Louis for a mid-week clash against SLU. Next weekend, Valley play continues when the Salukis host the defending MVC regular season co-champions, the Illinois State Redbirds.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Brianna (14-1)
L: Jones, Kiley (9-3)
Batting:
2B: Engelking, Caitlin 1 ; O'Brien, Jamie 1 ; Borg, Emily 1
RBI: Engelking, Caitlin 1 ; Wilson, Brooke 1 ; Polaski, Katie 1
SF: Polaski, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McGee, Shannon 1 ; Cordell, Jordyn 1 ; Parenti, Ashley 1 ; Swain, Sophia 1
Batting:
2B: Vermejan, Maddy 2 ; Massa, Katelyn 1 ; Decker, Kyleigh 1
HR: Massa, Katelyn 1
RBI: Vermejan, Maddy 2 ; Massa, Katelyn 3
SH: Massa, Katelyn 1 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Baranski, Susie 1 ; Massa, Katelyn 1 ; Decker, Kyleigh 1 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
SB: Turner, Brittany 1 ; Fisher, Savannah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/DP
/ Softball
INF
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