Southern Illinois University
25-19-1
Illinois St.
24-27
SIU’s comeback falls short against Illinois State
05/13/2022 | 12:40:00 | Softball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Southern Illinois University softball team sent the winning run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of their 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal game against the No. 6-seeded Illinois State Redbirds, but the Redbirds killed SIU's rally to seal an 8-7 victory Thursday.
The Salukis fell behind 5-1 after three innings but methodically chipped away to tie the game at 6-all. Illinois State used a pair of solo home runs to go ahead, 8-6 in the top of the seventh but Southern had one last gasp. Bailey Caylor hit her first career home run to get SIU to within one and the Salukis put the next two batters on with no outs in the frame but couldn't get the big hit needed to complete the comeback.
"We didn't get off to a great start," interim head coach Jen Sewell said. "I don't think falling behind by one run was a big deal but that big punch that Illinois State threw plus the errors put us in a hole that felt even bigger after (Dayna Kennedy's) home run in the third. But, in typical fashion, we came roaring back. It doesn't surprise me that it was as tight as it was with six outs to play."
Southern's plate discipline was on full display, as the Salukis, despite having just four hits, drew a season-high 15 walks.
"We had seven runs on four hits, so we were really one hit away in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings from breaking it open," Sewell said. "You have to give it to Illinois State's pitching- they kept us in the park. They also swung and made a lot of solid contact."
Illinois State got on the board first after it used an error and a pair of singles to push across a run in the top of the first. The Redbirds added to their lead in the top of the third as they used an error and three hits, one of which was a three-run home run, to take a 5-0 lead.
Southern scored its first run in the bottom of the third, as Ashley Wood led off with a walk and later came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Salukis continued to throw haymakers back at the Redbirds, finally connecting on a trio of body blows that sent the Redbirds reeling in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back walks to lead off the frame coupled with an error off the bat of Emma Austin plated the first run of the inning. Rylie Hamilton then scorched a single to center to score a run and Elizabeth Warwick followed with a RBI-single of her own. Southern nearly tied the game on Warwick's base hit, but Wood was called out on a bang-bang play at the plate.
The Redbirds, however, answered back in the fifth after it used a single and three walks to push its advantage back to two, 6-4.
With the top of its order back up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, the Salukis went back to work. Austin led off with a single, Jenny Jansen worked a full-count walk and Hamilton and Warwick drew walks to get SIU back to within one, 6-5. A deep fly ball off the bat of Elisabeth Huckleberry scored Reagan McGahey from third to tie the game at 6-all.
The Redbirds responded with back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the seventh. The Salukis got a solo home run from Caylor to get to within one and put the next two runners on via walks, but couldn't get either in to score.
With the loss, Southern's 2022 season comes to a close. The Salukis led the MVC in batting average, on-base percentage, runs and walks and went 27-19-1.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fox, Amanda (13-11)
L: Eberle, Madi (7-9)
Batting:
3B: Chval, Kaili 1
HR: Knight, Abby 1 ; Kennedy, Dayna 2
RBI: Knight, Abby 2 ; Kennedy, Dayna 4 ; Calabrese, Michele 1 ; LaFountaine, Brandi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chval, Kaili 1 ; Bryant, Delainey 1 ; Knight, Abby 3 ; Kennedy, Dayna 2 ; Moffett, Rebecca 1
HBP: Calabrese, Michele 1
Batting:
HR: Caylor, Bailey 1
RBI: Hamilton, Rylie 1 ; Warwick, Elizabeth 2 ; Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1 ; Caylor, Bailey 1
SH: Wood, Ashley 2
SF: Huckleberry, Elisabeth 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Austin, Emma 2 ; McGahey, Reagan 1 ; Wood, Ashley 1 ; Eilers, Danyelle 1 ; Caylor, Bailey 2
SB: Jansen, Jenny 1
HBP: Caylor, Bailey 1
