Salukis drop series finale to Bears, 2-1

Tuesday, April 9

Springfield, MO

12 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

23-10, 0

Missouri State University

23-14, 0

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

Photo by: Will Becque

04/09/2019 | 3:50:00 | Softball

Box Score

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A pair of late runs by Missouri State was the difference Tuesday in a 2-1 Bears victory in the series finale.

The Salukis (23-10, 8-4 MVC) stranded runners in six of seven innings and got their leadoff hitter on base in four of seven innings. SIU's 10-game win streak, its longest since 2011, came to an end with the loss.

"Sometimes when we don't come out ablaze, it can effect our psyche," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We're a young team with young hitters and we are trying to battle that. I thought Bri and Claire both threw fantastic. We had good energy and effort today, it just didn't go our way."

Southern scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Kyleigh Decker led off with a five-pitch walk and moved to third on consecutive sacrifice bunts. Susie Baranski worked an eight pitch at-bat to single up the middle and bring in Decker.

Starting pitcher Brianna Jones cruised through the first three innings and only allowed a bunt single through four innings.

Jones ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. A one-out single turned into a runner on second after an errant throw to the cutoff allowed the runner to move up a base. In doing so, it snapped SIU's 66-inning error-less streak. A two-out single up the middle tied the game at 1-all and chased Jones.

Claire Miller came on in relief of Jones and retired the first four batters that she faced.

Jordan Spicer led off the seventh with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. SIU got two cracks at bringing Spicer in from third but came up empty.

Back-to-back singles and a one-out hit by pitch loaded the bases for the Bears in the bottom of the seventh. After a fly-out to left gave SIU the second out of the inning, the Bears hit a dribbler between the pitcher's circle and third base that made for a difficult play and allowed the winning run to score.

At the plate, four Salukis recorded a hit and six Salukis reached base led by Susie Baranski. Baranski went 2-for-2 with a walk and a RBI.

Southern will look to get back to its winning ways this weekend when it travels to Terre Haute, Ind. for a three-game set with the Sycamores. With rain in the forecast for Sunday, fans are encouraged to check back periodically for schedule updates/changes or to follow @SIU_Softball on twitter.