Softball tops Ohio, falls to Creighton on windy day at Charlotte West Stadium

Sunday, February 24

Carbondale, Ill.

12:15 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

9-3

Creighton University

6-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Creighton	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	5	0
Southern Illinois	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	0

Photo by: T.H. Weber

Softball tops Ohio, falls to Creighton on windy day at Charlotte West Stadium

02/24/2019 | 5:57:00 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois softball team split two games on Sunday, losing 2-1 to Creighton in the opener, but beating Ohio, 2-1, in game two on a wind-driven afternoon at Charlotte West Stadium. The Salukis (10-3) are off to their best start after 13 games since the 2009 team opened the season 12-1.

In the second game, Southern broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth when Kyleigh Decker launched her first home run of the season — an opposite-field shot off the face of the scoreboard.

The Salukis added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Eyrika Brandenburg drilled a pinch-hit single up the middle to score Maddy Vermejan. A left-handed hitter, Brandenburg stepped into the three-hole in the lineup to create a favorable match-up against Ohio pitcher Madi McCrady (4-2).

"We felt like (McCrady) didn't match-up well with our lefties," explained SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock. "We felt like we needed to get our power righties out of there because of the way she was throwing the ball."

SIU pitcher Brianna Jones (8-1) picked up the victory, allowing her only run of the weekend on a solo homer in the top of the seventh. She pitched a combined 14 innings during the home tournament, picking up two wins, scattering eight hits, walking two and striking out 11 batters.

"Bri didn't feel like she had all her stuff today, but I thought she managed it really well and got through it," said Blaylock.

Holly Marousek (0-1) took a hard-luck loss on the mound for Southern in game one. The only two runs she allowed came on a two-out, wind-blown pop-up that landed five feet in front of home plate in the top of the fourth inning.

"I'm really proud of how Holly threw today because she had had a couple of rough starts," Blaylock said. "She really commanded things today. The ball that we let drop on the infield really cost her or we win a 1-0 game there."

The Salukis scored their only run off Creighton's Kiele Miller (4-2) in the bottom of the fourth to close the gap to 2-1, but Laura Roecker pitched three hitless innings in relief for the Bluejays (6-7) for the save.

After scoring 26 runs last weekend at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge, Southern was limited to seven runs in four games this weekend. With temperatures in the low 40s and blustery winds, the weather didn't lend itself to high-scoring games in Carbondale.

"We didn't quite strike it as well this weekend, but we did a lot of other good things," Blaylock said, after the 3-1 homestand. "You take your wins. We're 10-3 and two of our losses are by one run. We're playing well, we just have to keep on grinding. It's a long season."

The Salukis host the Coach B Classic next weekend with games against Kentucky, Saint Louis, Wichita State and Murray State. Temperatures are expected to be in the 30s, which may foretell another low-scoring weekend.

"We're still feeling our way," Blaylock said. "We need to understand that we're pretty good and we need to remain confident, because (the offense) is going to bust through for us."