Southern Illinois University
7-0
Austin Peay State University
4-1
Salukis improve to 7-0 with 4-1 win over Govs
02/26/2021 | 8:12:00 | Softball
Southern's current 16-game win streak is its longest since 1991.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team moved to 7-0 on the season after it defeated the Austin Peay Governors, 4-1 Friday night on day one of the Coach B Classic.
The Salukis won their 16th-straight game Friday behind a dominant pitching performance by Sarah Harness coupled with timely hitting and solid defense. Southern struck for a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
"Our energy was phenomenal," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We hung in there the entire time and followed our plan. Our hitters are so confident right now that we can go through the lineup once and feel it out and see what they're going to do to us. I'm really proud of them. I thought Sarah threw a phenomenal game. She gave up that one double but other than that she was tremendous."
Southern's depth was on full display as it was the bottom of the order that keyed its victory. After Harness and Austin Peay's Harley Mullins combined to allow just four hits through the first four innings, SIU broke through in the bottom of the fifth thanks to the latter part of its lineup. Ashley Wood, hitting in the six-hole, led off the frame with a single. Elisabeth Huckleberry followed with a walk and Sidney Sikes moved both runners into scoring position with a well-placed bunt. Elizabeth Warwick, Southern's nine-hole hitter, came through with a single up the middle to plate both runners and stake SIU to a 2-0 lead.
"We've got a great mix of veteran leadership and youth," Blaylock said. "We have good pitching and good defense and we can hit up and down the lineup. Every game someone different comes through with the hit. We don't depend on just one person for big hits- its been up and down the lineup."
After the Govs got a run back in the top-half of the sixth, Jenny Jansen worked a one-out walk and Katelyn Massa connected on 2-2 fastball for her first home run of the season, and 26th of her career.
"I knew she was going to either throw a curveball outside or a fastball inside to get me out," Massa said of her home run. "I wasn't going to chase anything high or low. So when I saw that fastball inside, I turned on it."
Four runs were more than enough for Harness, who went the distance and allowed just three hits- two of which were singles, while striking out eight and walking none.
Massa finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Wood was 2-fo-3 with a run scored while Jansen went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and a run scored.
Southern's current 16-game win streak is the longest in Blaylock's 22 seasons as SIU's head coach. It is tied for the second-longest streak in program history and is the most consecutive wins without a loss by the Salukis since 1991.
"We're not going to go 52-0," Blaylock said wryly. "We're not- that's just ridiculous. But we're going to keep taking it one game at a time and if it works out, it works out. But if we keep playing well, things will happen like they are suppose to."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harness, Sarah (2-0)
L: MULLINS, Harley (1-1)
Batting:
2B: MOORE, Emily 1
RBI: SHORTER, Bailey 1
SF: SHORTER, Bailey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MOORE, Emily 1
Batting:
2B: Wood, Ashley 1
HR: Massa, Katelyn 1
RBI: Massa, Katelyn 2 ; Warwick, Elizabeth 2
SH: Sikes, Sidney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Massa, Katelyn 1 ; Wood, Ashley 1 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1
CS: DePron, Aubree 1 ; Warwick, Elizabeth 1
