Southern Illinois University
28-8, 10-5
Illinois State University
22-5, 8-1
Redbirds take two from Salukis
04/17/2021 | 6:07:00 | Softball
The Southern Illinois University softball team dropped a pair of Missouri Valley Conference games to Illinois State on Saturday, as the Salukis fell 6-1 in the opener and suffered a 4-3 defeat to the Redbirds in the nightcap.Â
In a battle between arguably the two top pitchers in the Valley, Illinois State's Morgan Day got the better of SIU's Sarah Harness in game one. Harness allowed six earned runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts and two walks. After Southern struck for a run in the top of the first, Illinois State hung a three-spot in the second to give Day a two-run cushion that was more than enough. Day went the distance and allowed six hits and one run in a complete game.Â
SIU's offense improved as the day went along. After the Salukis got six hits off Day in the opener, Southern tagged Illinois State's game two starter, Mack Leonard, with two runs on eight hits and concluded the nightcap with a season-high 11 base knocks.Â
"Our offense was really ready to go today," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "They did a great job- they were prepared and they got on base. We left some runners on in the first game but in the second game I thought that, offensively, we did a great job. I didn't think we threw bad I just don't think that our pitching was as spot on as it usually is."
In game one, Maddy Vermejan was hit by a pitch, stole second and came around to score on a double by Jenny Jansen to make it 1-0 in the top of the first.
The Redbirds got to Harness in the second, as they used a solo home run, three singles and a walk to score three runs. Illinois State added to its lead with three runs on two walks and two hits in the fourth to give Day all the run support she needed.Â
Southern had opportunities in game one- it left at least one runner on base in six of seven innings. SIU's 1-6 hitters all had a hit in the opener, as Caylor and Vermejan were the lone Salukis to reach base twice. Â
In game two, Illinois State used back-to-back singles, a walk and a groundout to plate the game's first run in the bottom of the second.Â
Vermejan ignited SIU's offense in the fifth with a leadoff solo home run- her fourth of the season. Jansen and Katelyn Massa followed with back-to-back singles, and Massa's courtesy runner, Meredith Wernig, came around to score on a single by Elisabeth Huckleberry to put SIU ahead 2-1.Â
The Redbirds turned the game back over to Day after Huckleberry's single in the fifth and they wasted little time in knotting the score up. Illinois State used a leadoff double to push across the tying run in the bottom of the fifth.Â
Southern regained the lead in the sixth on a RBI-single by Caylor, but the Salukis left the bases loaded and the Redbirds made them pay with two solo home runs in the bottom half of the frame that proved to be the difference.Â
"You have to give Illinois State credit- they are a veteran team," Blaylock said. "I looked out on the field today and we had five freshmen in the lineup. But we competed really hard. You just give Illinois State credit for stepping up when they needed to."
Madi Eberle took the loss in the nightcap, as she surrendered four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and seven walks. Day came on in the fifth and allowed one run on three hits to pick up her second win of the day.Â
"Their ace in the circle got the job done today," Blaylock said. "Day's really good and she wanted the ball again and she got it and closed out the game."
Vermejan went 3-for-4 with a home run, a run scored and a RBI to lead the Salukis. Jansen extended her on-base streak to 19 games after she tallied a hit in each of SIU's games on Saturday. Caylor notched her team-best 10th multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-3 day at the plate while Huckleberry and Sidney Sikes also tallied multi-hit games.Â
The Salukis and the Redbirds will close out their three-game series tomorrow at 11 a.m.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Day, Morgan (13-4)
L: Harness, Sarah (14-3)
Batting:
2B: Jansen, Jenny 1
RBI: Jansen, Jenny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vermejan, Maddy 1
SB: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Caylor, Bailey 1
HBP: Vermejan, Maddy 1
Batting:
2B: Coursey, Andrea 1
HR: Strandgard, Spenser 1
RBI: Chval, Kaili 1 ; Olson, Emme 1 ; Coursey, Andrea 2 ; Strandgard, Spenser 2
SH: Moffett, Rebecca 1 ; Bylak, Madi 1 ; Gardner, Reili 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Leonard, Mack 1 ; Chval, Kaili 1 ; Kennedy, Dayna 1 ; Coursey, Andrea 1 ; Strandgard, Spenser 1 ; Moffett, Rebecca 1
HBP: Chval, Kaili 1
