Southern Illinois University
10-8, 0
Missouri State University
7-12, 0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harness, Sarah (6-5)
L: Steffany Dickerson (6-5)
Batting:
2B: DePron, Aubree 1
HR: Schullian, Tori 1
RBI: Jansen, Jenny 2 ; Schullian, Tori 4
SH: Sikes, Sidney 1 ; Caylor, Bailey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DePron, Aubree 2 ; Wood, Ashley 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Schullian, Tori 1
SB: Wood, Ashley 1
Batting:
2B: Olivia Krehbiel 2 ; Annie Mueller 1
RBI: Daphne Plummer 1 ; Olivia Krehbiel 1
SH: Alex Boze 1 ; Payton Minnis 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kenzie Derryberry 1 ; Ellie McCoy 1
SB: Skyler Shaw 1
HBP: McKenzie Vaughan 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Schullian's grand slam, Harness' gem lead Salukis to split at Missouri State
03/16/2022 | 4:59:00 | Softball
The Salukis win in 15 innings marked its first victory at Missouri State since 2016.
Tori Schullian's grand slam in the 15th inning broke a 2-all tie and gave SIU a 6-2 win over Missouri State in game one of Wednesday's Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader. In the nightcap, the Bears defeated the Salukis, 2-1.
"From the first pitch until the last pitch, our kids gave every last ounce that they had," Interim head coach Jen Sewell said. "We then had a 45 minute break before we had to come back and try to do it again. I think both teams were just trying to muster enough to keep going. But any time you go on the road, in the middle of the week, after a long weekend that was made longer by weather, and you come out with a win after 15 innings, we will take that."
In what was a pitcher's dual that featured two of the top starting pitchers in the MVC in SIU's Sarah Harness and MSU's Stephanie Dickerson, the Salukis used back-to-back singles, an intentional walk and Schullian's second home run of the season to take the opener.
Ashley Wood led off the 15th with a single, Rylie Hamilton followed with a single of her own and Jenny Jansen was intentionally walked to set the table for Schullian. The Herrin, Ill. native battled through seven pitches before sending the eighth offering from Dickerson over the fence in left.
Harness showed the composure and poise that has made her one of the best pitchers in the league since her arrival in 2020. That was no more evident than in the bottom of the third inning, when the Bears loaded the bases with no outs. Harness then set Missouri State's 1-2-3 hitters down in order to get out of the jam unscathed.
"Sarah gets better as she goes," Sewell said. "She will pitch her way into games like that because she is used to throwing a lot of innings. I never saw a pitch count but from the first pitch until the last pitch she threw she was right around the same velocity and in the same mindset. She didn't seem like she had to grind or dig for pitches. She just made a couple of adjustments and just kept gunning pitches in there."
Harness went the distance, as she threw all 15 innings to improve to 6-5 on the season. The junior hurler allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and struck out 11. Harness and Dickerson, who also went the distance, are now tied for the longest outing in NCAA DI this season.
Southern got out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, as Aubree DePron led off the game with a double and Jansen brought her around to score with a single.
SIU looked poised to add to its lead in the top of the fifth, as Sidney Sikes worked a walk to lead off the frame and Bailey Caylor followed with a perfectly placed bunt single. DePron moved both runners up with a groundout but that was as close as the Salukis could get.
The Bears took advantage of Southern's missed opportunity, as a two-out single by Daphne Plummer in the bottom-half of the inning tied the game at 1-all.
Both pitchers settled in considerably after that. Neither team had a runner advance past second until the 11th inning, when the Bears used a leadoff double to put pressure on Harness. As they say, pressure makes diamonds and Harness' gem was not to be interrupted, as she retired the next three batters to get out of the inning.
After Caylor's fifth inning single, Dickerson retired 21 of the next 22 batters she faced before Schullian's two-out single in the 12th.
The Salukis finally got to Dickerson in the 13th. The fifth-year senior had given up just four hits through 12 innings before Southern strung together four hits in the top of the 13th. Bailey Caylor led off with a single, Wood followed with a single of her own and Hamilton loaded the bases after she put down a perfect bunt that hugged the third base line. Jansen then followed with a laser to third that plated SIU's second run.
Missouri State went back to work in the bottom of the 13th, as it used a walk and a double to tie the game at 2.
After a scoreless 14th inning, Southern scored four in 15th to seal the win.
Jansen tied the school record for career RBI in the victory. She was 2-for-6 with 2 RBI to give her 155 career RBI. Wood extended her reached base streak to 19 games with her two hits, while Schullian was 3-for-7 with 4 RBI.
"Tori saw the ball really well today," Sewell said. "Even though she got out a couple of times, she had the right approach. So I had a feeling she was going to get one. I obviously didn't know she was going to get one for a grand slam, but she was the one that just kept getting the ball on the barrel the best. Dickerson kept throwing a ball that was eating up righties on the inside of the plate and Tori figured that out the best."
In the nightcap, Madi Eberle retired the first 12 batters she faced before she ran into trouble in the fifth. Back-to-back walks, followed by a double and a one-out single staked the Bears to a 2-0 lead.
Down to their final out, Southern nearly made a comeback. DePron beat out an infield single, Wood walked and Hamilton ripped a single to left to plate a run. But that was all the damage that the Salukis could do.
Southern had its share of opportunities in game two. The Salukis got at least one runner on in each of the first four innings but came up empty. SIU left a total of nine on base in the loss.
Seven different Salukis recorded a hit in the nightcap. Wood extended her reached base streak to 20 games with her single to lead off the third while DePron's infield single in the seventh extended her hit streak to eight games.
Eberle took the tough luck loss. She threw all six innings and allowed just two earned runs on two hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. She retired the side in order in five of six innings.
"That was an incredible effort by Madi," Sewell said. "Considering what she has been through, to throw a two-hitter on the road is impressive even though we couldn't get the two-out hit that we needed."
The Salukis are back in action this weekend when they host the MVC preseason favorite UNI Panthers for a three-game series. First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is set for Noon.
NOTES
First extra inning MVC game for the Salukis since April 28, 2019 at UNI (W, 7-5 // 8 innings) … Longest game for SIU since its 1-0 win over Evansville in 16 innings on April 28, 2018 … Jenny Jansen's two RBI brings her into a tie with Shaye Harre for most RBI in a career with 155.