Southern Illinois University
26-6, 8-3
Loyola University Chicago
5-19, 1-7
Salukis complete sweep of Ramblers with 3-0 win on Saturday
04/03/2021 | 2:35:00 | Softball
Eberle's two-hitter propelled Southern to its first three-game sweep of Loyola since 2015.
The Southern Illinois University softball team completed its first three-game sweep of the Loyola Ramblers since 2015 with a 3-0 win Sunday behind a two-hit shutout from freshman hurler Madi Eberle.
Eberle was terrific on Saturday, as she didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning and only allowed five base runners all day, none of which made it past second base. She also struck out seven to improve to 8-4 on the season.Â
"Madi had a good command of the strike zone today and she threw the ball where we wanted her to," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "She had great location on her pitches and was really settled. She was confident and was very much in control throughout the game, which was why I went with her the whole way. She deserved to go the distance and did a great job."
SIU's pitchers, who came into the weekend with the best ERA in the MVC, combined to allow just one run on 10 hits in 19 innings during Southern's sweep of the Ramblers. SIU's one run allowed was its fewest in a three-game sweep since 2016.Â
"Pitching and defense really set the tone this weekend," Blaylock said. "We made some good plays today despite the wind and that allowed our offense to see more of their pitchers and settle in at the plate."
Southern was patient at the dish and took advantage when Loyola made mistakes. All three of SIU's runs on Saturday came after consecutive walks and with two-outs.Â
"We did a great job of two-out hitting," Blaylock said. "We played with confidence this weekend. We had met a couple of times this week and talked about things we haven't done so well thus far and how we wanted to see improvement as the rest of year goes along. We talked about playing all 14 innings yesterday and how we wanted to play a good third game of a series today. I think we're really trying to adjust and do those things."
Elisabeth Huckleberry and Maddy Vermejan worked back-to-back one-out walks in the top of the third and Jansen brought them both into score with a towering fly ball that got caught in the jet stream and landed in no man's land for a two-run double.
Eberle worked around a walk in each of the fourth and fifth innings and Southern gave her a little more breathing room in the top of the sixth. Elizabeth Warwick and Sidney Sikes drew back-to-back two-out walks and Bailey Caylor made Loyola pay with a single through the right side of the infield that brought in Warwick.
Southern's defense to back Eberle was stellar despite the windy conditions, as the Salukis made several tough plays.Â
In the bottom of the first, Warwick dove into foul territory to snag a foul ball that got Southern out of the inning.Â
In the fourth, Loyola's Nova Sinskul hit a ball that just dropped in front of a diving Maris Boelens in center, but Warwick was there to snag the loose ball and fire it to second to nab Sinskul trying to advance to second.Â
Sinskul got to second on an error in the bottom of the sixth but Sidney Sikes was able to help keep her there after she snagged a fly out in foul territory. After a runner again reached second in the seventh, Sikes snagged a hard hit liner at third to save a run.Â
At the plate, Vermejan went 1-for-1 with a walk, a run scored and two hit by pitches. Caylor was 2-for-3 with a RBI while Jansen was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and 2 RBIs. Seven different Salukis reached base in the win.
The Salukis return home on April 10 for a three-game series against the Evansville Purple Aces. The April 10 doubleheader will serve as Senior Day for Southern's 2020 seniors, who did not get a Senior Day due to the season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is set for 12 p.m.
NOTES
Jansen's double in the third was her 37th of her career- which is the eighth-most in program history … Vermejan's stolen base in the seventh was the 48th of her career, which moved her into a tie with Shannon Taylor (1988-91) for fourth on SIU's all-time list … SIU allowed just one run in its three-game sweep of the Ramblers, which is the fewest its allowed in a three-game sweep since it allowed just one run to Illinois State on March 25-26, 2016 … It marks the ninth time since the MVC went to three-game series in 2001 that Southern has held its opponent to one or fewer runs in a three-game sweep … Eberle's two hits allowed were the fewest for her in a complete game this season … Blaylock now needs five wins to pass Itchy Jones for the most career wins of any coach in Saluki athletics history.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Eberle, Madi (8-4)
L: Ruggles (3-10)
Batting:
2B: Jansen, Jenny 1
RBI: Jansen, Jenny 2 ; Caylor, Bailey 1
SH: Boelens, Maris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vermejan, Maddy 1 ; Warwick, Elizabeth 1 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1
SB: Vermejan, Maddy 1
CS: Vermejan, Maddy 1
HBP: Vermejan, Maddy 2
Batting:
2B: Currie 1
SH: Barnett 1
Base Running:
HBP: Ivey 2 ; Engelking 1
