Southern Illinois University
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Indiana State University
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Salukis split with Sycamores
04/23/2022 | 7:28:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team split its Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader with the Indiana State Sycamores on Saturday, April 23. The Salukis downed the Sycamores, 4-2 in the opener before Indiana State won game two, 6-1.
The Salukis won the opener behind another solid pitching performance from Sarah Harness. Harness threw six innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits. Madi Eberle locked down the save after she pitched a scoreless seventh.
Southern scored three runs in the fourth and added an insurance run in the sixth to give Harness and Eberle more than enough to seal the victory.
In game two, Indiana State broke open a 1-all tie with a five-run fifth inning, which was aided by a trio of Saluki fielding errors.
"I loved how we played in game one," interim head coach Jen Sewell said. "In game two, I felt like the ball found us defensively when we weren't in recovery mode. You can get away with making one error, but you cant make two and you definitely cant make three. Indiana State is a very well-coached team and when they get some momentum they can really put their foot on the accelerator and we felt that in the five-run fifth."
In the opener, Indiana State got out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first after it used a walk, a double and a sacrifice fly to plate a run.
Southern got at least one runner on in each of the first three innings but didn't break through until the bottom of the fourth. Tori Schullian led off with a single while Elisabeth Huckleberry followed with a bunt single of her own to set the table for Emma Austin. Austin came through with the first extra base hit of her collegiate career, a two-run triple, to give Southern the lead. Two batters later, Ashley Wood scored Austin from third on a sacrifice fly to put SIU ahead, 3-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, Austin was again the straw that stirred the drink for SIU offensively. She led off the frame with a single and later came around to score on a two-out double by Jenny Jansen.
After Harness issued back-to-back walks to lead off the seventh, Eberle came on to shut the door. She got help from her catcher, Sidney Sikes, who threw out an Indiana State runner at third for the inning's first out. After the Sycamores got to within two with a RBI-single, Eberle got the fly ball and strikeout she needed to give Southern a win in the opener.
Austin had a career-day in the win. She went 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBI, all of which were personal-bests. She also added a base hit in game two.
"We've been rotating Emma into the lineup and she's a firecracker," Sewell said. "We try to use her energy at the right time. I think she feels like she can hit anything and when you're up or down, sometimes you just need a spark and she provided it today."
In the nightcap, Indiana State again took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third.
Southern answered back in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of one-out walks and a single loaded the bases for Sikes, who took a pitch off the arm to plate a run. Indiana State made a pitching change and brought in Hailey Griffin, who promptly struck out the next batter she faced to get the Sycamores out of the bases loaded jam.
With momentum on their side, the Sycamores used four hits and three Saluki errors to put up a five-spot in the fifth. The Salukis had one last gasp, as they loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh but Griffin again got a strikeout to get out of it.
Five different Salukis recorded a hit in the nightcap, which included Aubree DePron's eighth multi-hit game of the season after she went 2-for-3. Jenny Jansen tallied a three-hit game in the opener and walked twice in game two to extend her reached base safely streak to 29 games, the longest streak by a Saluki since at least 2003. Sidney Sikes also drew at least one walk in each of Saturday's games to extend her reached base safely streak to 19 games.
The rubber match between the Salukis and the Sycamores is slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. The contest was originally scheduled to start at Noon but has been moved up due to rain in tomorrow's forecast.
Team Stats
Batting:
2B: Guercio, Amanda 1
RBI: Henning, Isabella 1
SF: Henning, Isabella 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Peterson, Bella 1 ; Siwek, Lexie 1
SB: Siwek, Lexie 1
CS: Thomerson, Cassie 1
Batting:
2B: Jansen, Jenny 1
3B: Austin, Emma 1
RBI: Wood, Ashley 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Austin, Emma 2
SF: Wood, Ashley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Caylor, Bailey 1 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1 ; Austin, Emma 2
SB: Warwick, Elizabeth 1
