Southern Illinois University
8-0
Ball State University
2-2
Salukis take two on day two of Coach B Classic
02/27/2021 | 8:18:00 | Softball
Southern improves to 9-0 with its two wins and has won 18-straight dating back to last season
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team won both of its games on day two of the Coach B Classic Saturday. The Salukis won game one against Ball State, 6-1 and followed with a 6-4 victory over DePaul in the nightcap.
The Salukis improved to 9-0 on the season with the two wins and have now won 18-straight dating back to last season. Southern's 18-game win streak remains its longest since 1991.
"This is the most relaxed I've been in years," 22nd-year head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "I've got kids that are ready to go all the time and they play hard. I told them, 'we have 52 games on our schedule- we're not going to go 52-0 but enjoy this ride and keep on going. We're going to keep taking it one game at a time."
Southern scored five runs in the first three innings of its win over Ball State, which was more than enough for SIU's pitchers. Madi Eberle threw five and a third innings and surrendered seven hits and one run while Sarah Harness retired five of the six batters she faced in relief to lock down the win.
In the win over the Blue Demons in the nightcap, SIU answered the three-time defending Big East Champions every time they began to rally. Southern went ahead 2-0 after the first and answered with two runs in the bottom half of the second after DePaul tied the game in the top-half of the frame. The Blue Demons again tied the game at 4-all in the fourth but the Salukis hung on and delivered the knockout blow in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of Jenny Jansen's two-out, two-run double.
"We're just finding ways to win," 22nd-year head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "Our team is very balanced, they are steady and they don't get up too high or too low. They just take it one pitch at a time. We're getting good pitching performances from everybody. It's a fun group to work with right now."
Against the Cardinals, the Salukis jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second on a two-out double steal. Elizabeth Warwick broke for second to force a throw and Ashley Wood came into score.
After Eberle hung another zero, the Salukis added to their lead with a four-spot in the bottom of the third. Sidney Sikes started it off with a leadoff double and Rylie Hamilton moved her to third with a beautiful bunt single. After Hamilton stole second, Maris Boelens brought both runners in to score with a single up the middle. Jansen walked and Wood brought Boelens into score with a RBI-double. Jansen later scored on a wild pitch.
Maddy Vermejan added to SIU's lead in the fifth after she beat out an infield single, went first-to-third on a sac bunt and stole home after Ball State's battery failed to account for her following a walk to Jansen. The Cardinals got a run back in the top of the sixth and had two runners on with one out in the frame, but Harness came on in relief and extinguished any chance of a Ball State comeback.
Madi Eberle earned the win in game one and improved to 3-0 in the circle this season. Maris Boelens finished 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored, while Ashley Wood was 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and a RBI.
In the victory over DePaul, Southern plated two runners in the first on back-to-back bases loaded walks. After the Blue Demons responded with a two-spot of their own in the top of the second, SIU manufactured a pair of runs in the bottom-half of the inning. Maddy Vermejan and Bailey Caylor led off with back-to-back singles and Vermejan came around to score on a wild pitch while Caylor scored on a sacrifice fly by Jansen.
The Blue Demons again responded with two runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 4-all. It remained 4-all until the bottom of the sixth, when Vermejan worked a two-out walk. Boelens singled to move Vermejan to third and Jansen scored both of them with her game-winning double.
"I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit it hard," Jansen said of her game-winning double. "I wanted to drive that last run in so we didn't have to play the bottom of the seventh. I just wanted to do whatever I could for our team. We've got a great group of girls and if it wasn't me, it would've been someone else. Hopefully we can keep this run going."
Harness improved to 3-0 on the season after she threw two and a third of one-hit relief. Vermejan went 2-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored while Caylor was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Nine different Salukis tallied a hit on the day and 11 different players reached base.
The Salukis will try to stay on the winning track when they close out the Coach B Classic with games against Austin Peay (12:15 p.m.) and St. Louis (4:45 p.m.). Fans are encouraged to check siusalukis.com as well as @SIU_Softball on twitter for updates on any postponements or delays that the forecasted rain may cause.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Eberle, Madi (3-0)
L: HUBER, Darcie (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: DOMINIQUE, Haley 1
SH: HENSLEY, Faith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WYNN, Kennedy 1
Batting:
2B: Wood, Ashley 1 ; Sikes, Sidney 1
RBI: Boelens, Maris 1 ; Wood, Ashley 1
SH: Boelens, Maris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Boelens, Maris 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Wood, Ashley 1 ; Wernig, Meredith 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1
SB: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1
CS: Warwick, Elizabeth 1
HBP: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Sikes, Sidney 1
