Southern Illinois University
Nicholls State University
Softball earns sweep on day two at Lion Classic
02/09/2019 | 9:53:00 | Softball
Hammond, La. — The Southern Illinois softball team (2-2) swept Nicholls State and San Jose State in day two at the Lion Classic. The Salukis avenged yesterday's loss to the Colonels (1-1) by winning in comeback fashion, 7-6, in game one and cruising to a 6-1 victory over the Spartans (3-1) in game two.
After scoring a combined three runs in yesterday's losses, the Saluki bats rose to the occasion in day two of the classic with a combined 13 runs on 15 hits. In the circle, pitchers Claire Miller and Brianna Jones each started, went five-plus innings and earned their first wins of the new year.
"I was really proud of the kids," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We challenged them to come out ready to go. They accepted the challenge and did very well."
GAME ONE vs. Nicholls State: W, 7-6
It appeared to be deja vu early on versus the Colonels, as they held a 4-0 lead over SIU in the second inning for the second-straight day. But unlike yesterday, Southern responded against the Nicholls squad that went an impressive 40-15 a year ago.
"I challenged the team today and told them that if you are gonna be decent, you have to be resilient and fight through things," Blaylock said. "We got down 4-0 to a really good team and Nicholls is projected to win their league. To hold on and get that first win was good."
In the bottom of the third, an error, single and walk led to a no-out bases loaded situation for Katelyn Massa. The junior responded with a single to third base, which scored Jenny Jansen from third and kept the bases full. Kyleigh Decker then came up to bat and plated two with a single up the middle. Later in the inning with two outs and runners on first and third, the Nicholls defense attempted to tag out Decker stealing second, but they missed the tag and pinch runner Meredith Wernig used her savvy baserunning skills to steal home.
The run by Wernig tied to ballgame up, 4-4.
In the bottom of the fourth, Massa once again came in the clutch, delivering a double to left center, scoring Jansen. The score broke the tie, giving the Salukis a 5-4 advantage.
Massa went 2-5 on the day with four runs batted in.
Southern scored for the third-consecutive inning in the fifth as Ashley Wood blasted a solo home run — her first as a Saluki — to deep left. It was the first homer of the year for Southern, whom led the Missouri Valley Conference with 47 in 2018. The lead was cushioned batters later when Massa drew a bases-loaded walk to score Maris Boelens, making it 7-4.
Nicholls closed the gap to one in the sixth inning with a two-run home run hit by pinch hitter Samantha Dares, but the offense was held in check for the remainder of the game.
Miller (1-1) went five innings as the starter and gave up 10 hits and six earned runs in the win. She was relieved by Jones after giving up the two-run home run in the top of the sixth. Jones tossed two innings of one-hit ball to earn the save.
"I thought Claire settled down and didn't allow the game to get out of hand," Blaylock said. "She got us far enough along that we could bring Brianna in to close it."
GAME TWO vs. San Jose State: W, 6-1
After a scoreless opening two innings, SIU took command in the third with two runs.
Senior's Jordan Spicer and Eyrika Brandenburg reached first and second to start the inning. Maddy Vermejan then ripped a double down the right-field line to score Wernig, who came in as a pinch-runner for Spicer. Two batters later, Brandenburg reached home on a sacrifice fly to right field hit by Massa.
"We're deep and can do all kind of things with our lineup," Blaylock said. "We can make changes in the outfield, changes at DP, and run too."
The Spartans answered right back in the next half inning, hitting two singles and one double off Jones, minimizing the Southern lead to 2-1. San Jose State had runners on second and third with one out, but Jones managed to leave the inning unscathed.
In the bottom of the fifth, SIU took advantage of two Spartan errors to score four runs and extend their lead to 6-1. Jansen, Decker and Susie Baranski each recorded RBI hits in the inning.
Jones (1-1) earned the complete game in the win, allowing only six hits and one run. She retired the first eight batters faced and struck out six, including the final batter of the game.
"In the second game, I thought Bri pitched extremely well and the offense came to life," Blaylock said. "Especially against a San Jose State team picked to finish second or third in their league."
NEXT UP
The Salukis play their fifth and final game at the Lion Classic tomorrow versus Mississippi Valley State at 10 a.m.
