Southern Illinois University
1-0
College of Charleston
0-1
Saluki softball splits on day one of Troy Classic
02/11/2022 | 9:35:00 | Softball
The Southern Illinois University softball team split on opening day of the 2022 season, as it defeated the College of Charleston, 8-2 before Troy held off SIU, 2-1 in the nightcap.
In the win over the Cougars, the Salukis used a six-run first inning, coupled with solo runs in the third and fifth innings to back a combined effort from Sarah Harness and Madi Eberle in the circle.Â
"It was a great start to our season," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We got our feet wet. It was good having Sarah back on the mound after she didn't pitch this fall. Madi came in and closed the door. Offensively, Sidney Sikes, Addi Baker, Riley Hamilton, Emma Anthony and Elisabeth Huckleberry all hit the ball hard. It was good to get a win under our belts and shake the rust off."
Southern wasted little time getting out to an early lead, as it sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first and plated six runs. Elisabeth Huckleberry led off the frame with a hit by pitch and later came around to score on a bases loaded walk to Ashley Wood. Rylie Hamilton followed with an RBI-single and Sidney Sikes later drove in a pair with a double down the left field line. Emma Anthony, in her first at-bat as a Saluki, singled up the middle to plate the sixth run of the frame which brought an abrupt end to Charleston starting pitcher Payton Lemire's day after two-third innings.
After Harness worked around a two-out walk in the top of the third, Addi Baker put SIU ahead 7-0 with her first collegiate home run- a solo shot to left field. Charleston used a single and a home run to get two runs back in the fourth but Southern countered with a pinch-hit, two-out RBI-single from Tori Schullian to push its advantage back to six.
The bottom half of Southern's lineup did a bulk of the heavy lifting, as SIU's 5-through-9 hitters were a combined 7-for-13 at the dish. Riley Hamilton (2-for-4) and Sidney Sikes (2-for-2, two doubles) each tallied multi-hit games in the win.
"The bottom half of our lineup really came ready to play," Blaylock said. "It is really helpful when you can get production all the way around."
Harness allowed two earned runs on three hits across five innings to earn the win in the circle in her first game since the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Eberle threw two innings of two-hit, scoreless relief to seal the victory.Â
"Sarah did a good job in the opener," Blaylock said. "She got a little tired and thats why we went to Madi to finish the game. But I was really pleased with the way she competed."
In the nightcap, a battle between two NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago broke late in favor of the Troy Trojans, as they used a pair of doubles to walk-off in the bottom of the seventh.Â
Madi Eberle suffered the tough luck loss in the circle. The sophomore hurler worked around traffic on the base paths most of the evening, as the Trojans put at least one runner on in five of the seven innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Troy used a walk and a two-out double to put runners on second and third but Eberle got Troy's next hitter to foul out to get out of the jam.
The Trojans again used a pair of walks to put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but Eberle came back from a 3-1 count to strike out the next hitter swinging to get out unscathed.Â
Southern's hitters made Preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Leanna Johnson work for everything Friday night. SIU's two hits and four walks don't tell the full story, as Johnson needed 192 pitches, an average of 6.62 an at-bat, to get through the contest.Â
"Madi threw a great game," Blaylock said. "She threw at an elite level tonight. She was composed throughout the game and competed really hard. She made some big pitches. It was a NCAA Tournament type of game. (Johnson) is one of the top two or three pitchers that we will face all season. We had a lot of quality at-bats and made Johnson throw over 190 pitches. When you throw that many pitches there are a ton of foul balls and deep counts. We were hitting the ball and doing what we were supposed."
The Salukis again got off to a hot start against the Trojans, using two walks, a single and sacrifice fly on a 12-pitch at-bat from Jenny Jansen to plate a runner in the top of the first. Prior to Jansen's at-bat, Southern just narrowly missed a crooked number in the frame as Ashley Wood smoked a pitch that went just inches foul and likely would have plated at least one more run for the Salukis, if not two in the frame.
Southern put seven runners on, which included runners on base in four of seven innings, but couldn't push across the run it needed to land the decisive blow against a Troy squad fresh off a 37-win season a year ago and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. The Trojans are the first of four NCAA Tournament teams from last season that the Salukis will face during the non-conference portion of its 2022 schedule.
"We are playing some high caliber teams early in the year and we just have to get better each day," Blaylock said. "I know that is cliche but we have to just keep trying to improve each day. I was really proud of them today. We got to the field at 9 a.m. and left around 8 p.m. so we are tired but now its about getting quality rest, recovering as best we can and getting after it again tomorrow."
The Salukis open day two of the Troy Classic against Purdue Fort Wayne at 10:30 a.m. Southern will then take on Troy again at 1:30 p.m. to close out play at the two-day tournament.Â
NOTES
Second-straight season that SIU has won its season-opener … Rylie Hamilton's multi-hit game against Charleston was just the second multi-hit game of her career … Sidney Sikes' tallied the fourth multi-hit game of her career with her career-best two doubles … Marked the first time since Jenny Jansen did so on May 2, 2021 in SIU's win over Valpo that a Saluki has recorded two doubles in the same game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harness, Sarah (1-0)
L: Lemire (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Helberg 1
RBI: Helberg 2
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Carter 1 ; Helberg 1
CS: Dominguez 1
Batting:
2B: Sikes, Sidney 2
HR: Baker, Addi 1
RBI: Wood, Ashley 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1 ; Baker, Addi 2 ; Sikes, Sidney 2 ; Anthony, Emma 1 ; Schullian, Tori 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1 ; Caylor, Bailey 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 2 ; Baker, Addi 1 ; Warwick, Elizabeth 1 ; Scroggins, Chloe 1
SB: DePron, Aubree 1 ; Austin, Emma 1
HBP: Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1 ; Anthony, Emma 1
