Southern Illinois University
23-18-1, 12-10
University of Evansville
23-22, 8-14
Salukis power past Aces, 8-6 to take series opener
04/30/2022 | 8:29:00 | Softball
Southern is ahead 6-0 in the sixth inning of game two when it resumes tomorrow at 11 a.m.
The Southern Illinois University softball team took the series opener from the Evansville Purple Aces, 8-6 on Saturday, April 30. Game two was suspended in the top of the sixth inning with SIU ahead 6-0.
The Salukis used three home runs and a solid pitching performance from Sarah Harness to power past the Aces in the opener. Southern plated a run in four of seven innings, which included back-to-back three run innings in the fifth and sixth. Saturday's win marked the first time that SIU has played at James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium since it won three-straight games last season to capture the MVC Tournament title.
"I thought it was some of the most complete innings that we have played," interim head coach Jen Sewell said. "We made one mistake early in the game but after that we adjusted very quickly. We felt comfortable on that field and we were joking about how we are undefeated there so everyone felt at home. We settled in and went and it flowed into game two."
Southern's sophomore trio of Elisabeth Huckleberry, Rylie Hamilton and Elizabeth Warwick each homered for the Salukis. The trio batted 4-5-6 in Southern's order for the first time this season and it paid off. Huckleberry's second inning solo blast was the game's first run and Hamilton's solo shot in the fourth tied the game at 2-all. After Southern went ahead 5-3 through five, Warwick's three-run blast effectively put the game out of reach.
"I know that Rylie has been wanting to contribute more as of late so I wanted to figure out how to surround her in our lineup so that it forced our opponents to go at her," Sewell said. "We had a little discussion pregame about everybody doing their job and certainly everybody did their job today. The wind was blowing out so we knew if we just got it up into the jet stream it would have a chance."
Harness improved to 16-10 on the season after she threw six innings and allowed four earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts. She retired the first seven batters that she faced but ran into some trouble after Evansville used four walks and a hit to take a 2-1 lead in the third. Hamilton's home run tied the game at 2-all and Harness hung a zero in the fourth to keep the game tied.
Ashley Wood and Jenny Jansen drew back-to-back walks to lead off the fifth and both came around to score on a wild pitch that resulted in an overthrow by Evansville's catcher. After Huckleberry drew a four-pitch walk, Aubree DePron brought her in to score on a triple.
Evansville used three hits to scratch a run across in the bottom of the fifth and get to within two, 5-3 but Southern's offense went back to work in the sixth. Bailey Caylor doubled to lead off the frame and Jenny Jansen drew a two-out walk to set the table for Warwick, who cleared the bases with her seventh home run of the season.
After back-to-back walks to leadoff the seventh ended Harness' day prematurely, the Aces used a two-run single and a RBI-groundout to cut its deficit to two, 8-6, before Eberle got the outs she needed to lock down the win.
Four different Salukis reached base multiple times in the win. Caylor was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored while Jansen was 1-for-1 with three walks. Hamilton was 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk while Huckleberry was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.
In game two, Southern scored six unanswered runs to take a 6-0 lead into the fifth before rain brought the game to a halt.Â
Madi Eberle threw five scoreless innings and had thrown just 76 pitches to retire 14 of the 18 batters that she faced.Â
"Madi was cruising and we would have loved for her to be able to finish but we were already sitting at 6:45 p.m. with lightning delays and after they pulled the tarp and reset the field it would've been later," Sewell said. "We are going to let Madi finish tomorrow and who knows, maybe she will just keep throwing into game three."
Game two will resume tomorrow at 11 a.m. The two teams will take a 30 minute break and then play game three.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harness, Sarah (16-10)
L: Vetter, Izzy (14-12)
Batting:
2B: Caylor, Bailey 1
3B: DePron, Aubree 1
HR: Warwick, Elizabeth 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1
RBI: Warwick, Elizabeth 3 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1 ; DePron, Aubree 1
SH: Hamilton, Rylie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wood, Ashley 1 ; Jansen, Jenny 1 ; Eilers, Danyelle 1 ; Warwick, Elizabeth 1 ; Hamilton, Rylie 1 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 2 ; Caylor, Bailey 1
SB: Eilers, Danyelle 1
HBP: Sikes, Sidney 2
Batting:
3B: McFeron, Mackenzie 1
RBI: Wood, Marah 2 ; Lis, Jenna 2 ; Nink, Jenna 1
SH: Frossard, Zoe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McFeron, Mackenzie 3 ; Davis, Alexa 1 ; Woolf, Haley 1 ; Frossard, Zoe 1
SB: McFeron, Mackenzie 1
HBP: Coffey, Bella 1
