Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saturday, March 23
Carbondale, Ill.
12 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
14-9, 3-3
20
vs
1
Valparaiso University
9-11, 1-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Southern Illinois | 0 | 10 | 9 | 1 | X | 20 | 14 | 0 |
Saluki softball takes two from Valparaiso
03/23/2019 | 6:00:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team swept its Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader from the Valparaiso Crusaders on Saturday, March 23. The Salukis run-ruled the Crusaders in game one by the score of 20-1, and took game two, 5-4 in eight innings on Megan Brown's walk-off home run.
"I've done this long enough to know that what we did in the first game doesn't mean it translates into the second game," 20th-year head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We had a great game plan against Kelsie Packard. We attacked early and just kept rolling. In game two, Jenna Edwards did a good job of pitching to different parts of the zone. But I told our kids before the sixth inning, 'quit panicking'. We are riding this emotional roller coaster win and we scored runs in the first two innings and had a great plan against Edwards. We just have to understand that it's a college softball game, people are going to score and we have to keep our composure."
Brianna Jones picked up both wins in the circle. In game one, she went the distance, as she threw all five innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out six. In game two, Jones threw two no-hit innings to stymie the Crusader bats and pick up her 12th win of the season. She now has 79 career wins and is six wins shy of breaking Amy Harre's school record of 84 career wins.
The Salukis won game one after they scored runs in three of their four innings, which included a 10-run second inning followed by a nine-spot in the bottom of the third. Southern added a 20th run in the bottom of the fourth on Sidney Sikes' first extra base hit of her collegiate career. It marked the first time that SIU has scored 20 or more runs in a game since April 16, 1993.
"We've scored 16 runs this year and now 20 runs," Blaylock said. "This is what makes me so frustrated, at times, with this team. We are a good offensive club if we keep our head about it. We have to understand we can't do it all the time, so if someone has our number one time through the order, thats okay. We're going to be okay."
Southern sent 14 batters to the plate in both the second and third innings, as nine different Salukis recorded a hit and 10 total batters reached base. Kyleigh Decker went 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, her fourth of the season, to go along with four runs scored, a walk and three RBI. Ashley Wood was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and five RBI, while Maddy Vermejan added her first home run of the season. Susie Baranski (2-for-5) and Jenny Jansen (2-for-3) also tallied multiple hits in the win.
In game two, Southern scored a run in both the first and the second innings, but Valparaiso countered with with four runs courtesy of a three-run home run and a solo shot in the top of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
Holly Marousek came on in relief of starting pitcher Claire Miller and kept the Salukis in the contest, as she threw three innings of one-hit relief to keep it a two-run game.
"I told Holly, she settled us down and kept us right there," Blaylock said. "With Bri having thrown right around 70 pitches in game one, it allowed me to go to Bri in the seventh. With the chance of rain tomorrow, we wanted to get after everything today, and see what happens tomorrow."
SIU plated two in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out, RBI-single up the middle by Maris Boelens and turned the game over to Jones, who shut down the Crusader bats and didn't allow a hit in her two innings of work.
"It was huge," Blaylock said of Boelens' game-tying hit. "She sat the bench in the first game and was called on in the second game. She's been battling kidney stones off and on for three weeks and that was huge moment for her."
In the bottom of the eighth, Brown crushed the first pitch of the inning to left center for her second home run of the season and the first walk-off hit of her career.
"I didnt pick a side of the plate like I knew if it was in or out (of the strike zone)," Brown said of her walk-off home run. "If it was a strike I was going to sell out and was going to either hit it or miss it. I just happened to get a good piece of it and it went out of the ballpark."
Brown was 3-for-4 in game two with two runs scored and a RBI. Decker was 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Wood was 2-for-4 with a RBI-double.
Southern will go for the three-game sweep of Valparaiso tomorrow at 12 p.m., weather permitting.
"I've done this long enough to know that what we did in the first game doesn't mean it translates into the second game," 20th-year head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We had a great game plan against Kelsie Packard. We attacked early and just kept rolling. In game two, Jenna Edwards did a good job of pitching to different parts of the zone. But I told our kids before the sixth inning, 'quit panicking'. We are riding this emotional roller coaster win and we scored runs in the first two innings and had a great plan against Edwards. We just have to understand that it's a college softball game, people are going to score and we have to keep our composure."
Brianna Jones picked up both wins in the circle. In game one, she went the distance, as she threw all five innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out six. In game two, Jones threw two no-hit innings to stymie the Crusader bats and pick up her 12th win of the season. She now has 79 career wins and is six wins shy of breaking Amy Harre's school record of 84 career wins.
The Salukis won game one after they scored runs in three of their four innings, which included a 10-run second inning followed by a nine-spot in the bottom of the third. Southern added a 20th run in the bottom of the fourth on Sidney Sikes' first extra base hit of her collegiate career. It marked the first time that SIU has scored 20 or more runs in a game since April 16, 1993.
"We've scored 16 runs this year and now 20 runs," Blaylock said. "This is what makes me so frustrated, at times, with this team. We are a good offensive club if we keep our head about it. We have to understand we can't do it all the time, so if someone has our number one time through the order, thats okay. We're going to be okay."
Southern sent 14 batters to the plate in both the second and third innings, as nine different Salukis recorded a hit and 10 total batters reached base. Kyleigh Decker went 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, her fourth of the season, to go along with four runs scored, a walk and three RBI. Ashley Wood was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and five RBI, while Maddy Vermejan added her first home run of the season. Susie Baranski (2-for-5) and Jenny Jansen (2-for-3) also tallied multiple hits in the win.
In game two, Southern scored a run in both the first and the second innings, but Valparaiso countered with with four runs courtesy of a three-run home run and a solo shot in the top of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
Holly Marousek came on in relief of starting pitcher Claire Miller and kept the Salukis in the contest, as she threw three innings of one-hit relief to keep it a two-run game.
"I told Holly, she settled us down and kept us right there," Blaylock said. "With Bri having thrown right around 70 pitches in game one, it allowed me to go to Bri in the seventh. With the chance of rain tomorrow, we wanted to get after everything today, and see what happens tomorrow."
SIU plated two in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out, RBI-single up the middle by Maris Boelens and turned the game over to Jones, who shut down the Crusader bats and didn't allow a hit in her two innings of work.
"It was huge," Blaylock said of Boelens' game-tying hit. "She sat the bench in the first game and was called on in the second game. She's been battling kidney stones off and on for three weeks and that was huge moment for her."
In the bottom of the eighth, Brown crushed the first pitch of the inning to left center for her second home run of the season and the first walk-off hit of her career.
"I didnt pick a side of the plate like I knew if it was in or out (of the strike zone)," Brown said of her walk-off home run. "If it was a strike I was going to sell out and was going to either hit it or miss it. I just happened to get a good piece of it and it went out of the ballpark."
Brown was 3-for-4 in game two with two runs scored and a RBI. Decker was 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Wood was 2-for-4 with a RBI-double.
Southern will go for the three-game sweep of Valparaiso tomorrow at 12 p.m., weather permitting.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Brianna (11-6)
L: Packard, Kelsie (7-5)
Batting:
3B: Moeder, Peyton 1 ; Herschbach, Taylor 1
RBI: Moeder, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Trepanier, Carly 1
SB: Matalin, Morgan 1
Batting:
2B: Baranski, Susie 1 ; Wood, Ashley 1 ; Sikes, Sidney 1
HR: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Decker, Kyleigh 1
RBI: Baranski, Susie 1 ; Vermejan, Maddy 3 ; Wood, Ashley 5 ; Spicer, Jordan 2 ; Decker, Kyleigh 3 ; Sikes, Sidney 2
SF: Spicer, Jordan 1 ; Sikes, Sidney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Baranski, Susie 2 ; Vermejan, Maddy 2 ; Wood, Ashley 2 ; Jansen, Jenny 2 ; Massa, Katelyn 2 ; Wernig, Meredith 1 ; Spicer, Jordan 1 ; Johnson, Nicole 1 ; Decker, Kyleigh 4 ; Brown, Megan 1 ; Pulley, Bailee 1 ; Sikes, Sidney 1
SB: Jansen, Jenny 1
HBP: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Wood, Ashley 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
4
H
3
RBI
3
lf/rf
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT/P
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballIF
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