Southern Illinois University
22-18-1, 11-10
Missouri State University
22-15, 15-4
Salukis fall to Bears, 1-0
04/27/2022 | 3:54:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — In a key Missouri Valley Conference softball matchup that featured two of the top pitchers in the league, Missouri State held on for a 1-0 win over Southern Illinois behind a dominant pitching performance by ace right-hander Steffany Dickerson.
SIU's ace Sarah Harness was up to the task of once again facing off against Dickerson. Harness threw a complete game, as she allowed just one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Missouri State's lone run came on a solo home run by Madison Hunsaker in the top of the fourth inning.
"It was a good ballgame on a good day," interim head coach Jen Sewell said. "We didn't come out on top but we pitched and defended really well. It was two of the top pitchers in the league going after each other. Sometimes the pitcher that makes the least mistakes wins the game. Sarah only made one mistake, which I would argue it was a bad pitch call on my part, and Missouri State took advantage of it. We can't ask for a much better performance from Sarah."
The Salukis came into Wednesday's game leading the conference in both batting average and on-base percentage. A hard-throwing fifth-year senior, Dickerson stifled Southern's potent offense and allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. Dickerson also didn't allow a Saluki to reach base after the third inning.
"Dickerson really has three different speeds, the heaviest being on the arm side," Sewell said. "So we started to speed up on the arm side and when you do that, you lose some of the outer half stuff. When that happens you have to have a quality plan and also hope that she misses somewhere. And she didn't today. When you're throwing on a dime like Dickerson was, it is going to be tough for even the best offense in the Valley."
Harness was impressive despite being saddled with the tough luck loss. The junior hurler retired the first seven batters that she faced, which included three strikeouts. After Hunsaker led off the fourth with a solo home run for the game's only run, Harness settled back in and retired 10 of the next 11 batters that she faced. She ran into trouble in the seventh though, as the Bears put runners on the corners with no outs. But the Bowling Green, Mo. native did as she has done all season and put out the fire. She got the first out of the inning on a strikeout and retired the next two on pop outs to keep it a one run game.
"Sarah Harness executed some big pitches in some big moments today," Sewell said. "She has been on an uptick for a while now. I was super impressed with how she threw."
Rylie Hamilton and Elisabeth Huckleberry each had a hit for the Salukis in the loss.
The Salukis are back in action this weekend when they head to Evansville, Ind. to take on the Aces. First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is set for Noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steffany Dickerson (17-6)
L: Harness, Sarah (15-10)
Batting:
2B: Alex Boze 1
HR: Madison Hunsaker 1
RBI: Madison Hunsaker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madison Hunsaker 1
SB: Payton Minnis 1
HBP: Madison Hunsaker 1
Base Running:
SB: Austin, Emma 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1
