Stunning Salukis comeback falls shy in extra innings versus Baylor

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The never-say-die Southern Illinois softball team nearly pulled off a stunning comeback versus Baylor, before falling in extra innings on Saturday, 13-9.

The Bears (40-17) eliminated SIU from the NCAA Tournament's Utah Regional, but the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions gave them all they could handle.

Trailing, 9-2, the Salukis (36-20) rallied for seven, unanswered runs in the final two innings to send the game to extra innings.

"I think we played our guts out, and we left it on the field so just super proud of our program overall," said head coach Jen Sewell after the game. "It was fun to represent SIU on this stage and like I said earlier, we didn't come here to participate, we came here to compete and I think we did that,"

Southern put a five-spot on the board in the sixth, with all of the runs coming with two outs. Following a pair of singles from Bailey Caylor and Aubree DePron, Elizabeth Warwick sent a line drive to center field to bring home Caylor and start what would become a seven-run comeback. Lis kept the line moving with a single of her own before Rylie Hamilton drove home two runs with a double to left field. The fifth and final run of the inning came across as Anna Carder notched her first triple of the season on a deep fly ball to right that scored Hamilton.

In the bottom of the seventh, Emma Austin led off with a double and scored on an error on the play. After DePron singled, Elizabeth Warwick doubled home DePron with the tying run with two outs. All-MVC first team recipient Liz Warwick went 5-for-10 with five RBIs and four runs during the Regional. In her final four games of the season, she totaled 10 hits, nine RBIs, and seven runs including a walk-off home run against Belmont in the MVC Tournament Semifinals.

"That's the cool thing about this group is that there was never any doubt," said DePron when asked about the comeback. "I mean we did it yesterday too, our bats our hot right now and we just compete, we're not scared of anybody and I think they started to doubt us a little bit when they were up 9-2 and we just kept fighting."

Senior Aubree DePron had a career-high four hits, going 4-for-5 with three runs in her final game as a Saluki. DePron finishes her senior season with a .323 batting average and 50 hits while making 53 starts.

MVC Tournament MVP Madi Eberle faced all but three batters in the contest, putting up scoreless frames in innings six through the eighth as the Salukis rallied back. The Bears finally plated four runs off Eberle in the top of the ninth, including a bases-clearing triple.

"Definitely been tough. I'm quite tired right now, I'm not going to lie," Eberle said with a bit of a laugh when asked about her workload through the Salukis' postseason run. "But my team always has my back so I knew I just needed to go out there and gut it out."

Over the Salukis last six games, Eberle has totaled 37.2 innings. Apart of those 37.2 innings included 23 innings pitched in the MVC Tournament where Eberle allowed just four earned runs while picking up four wins and leading SIU to their second MVC Championship in three years.

"I told them at the end, it was one of the best years I've had in coaching in terms of just enjoying everybody's competitiveness," Sewell said when recapping the 2023 season. "It didn't matter who we inserted in the lineup this year, they competed. It was just an absolute blast, the coaching staff had really one of the best seasons we've had and to come out of the highs and lows the way we did, the seniors have really rolled it over for next year and I'm just super proud of them."

Before the Salukis 4-0 run in the MVC Tournament, they had lost seven of their last 10 games while eight of those games were decided by just a single run. Southern entered the postseason as the sixth-seed in the Valley Tournament and became the highest-seeded team to win the tournament since Indiana State in 2015.

The Salukis (36-20), who advanced to NCAA Tournament play for the 14th time in school history, nearly pulled off a pair of upsets in the Utah Regional. They pushed the host Utes to the brink, before losing, 11-9, and nearly beat Big 12 Baylor.

"I'm just super excited about the culture that we've laid down here, it just always rolls over. Those freshmen will be stepping into another postseason run and I'm happy that probably 80% or 85% of our dugout is going to get to share that experience with them," Sewell said when talking about looking to next season. "I think our recruits know, this is where we're headed, this is the expectation, we expect to be here and if you're going to play in this uniform you're going to expect to make a postseason run."

Southern Illinois loses seniors Aubree DePron, Tori Schullian, and Kerrigan Gamm after a very successful four-years with Southern Illinois. The group of three total 115 wins, two MVC Championships, and two NCAA Regional appearances while all three graduate with GPAs over 3.50.

"I think each person on the roster understands their role and that makes us more successful," said senior Tori Schullian after he last game as a Saluki. "Whether it's cheering in the dugout, being a pinch runner, or a pitcher that comes in for one inning - I think that leads to good chemistry and I think we have a lot of faith and trust in each other and I hope that just continues for the years to come."

The Salukis 2023 season ends in Utah but not before an incredible run as the Salukis scored 18 runs while tallying 25 hits and going toe-to-toe with two top-25 teams. It's the most runs Southern Illinois has scored in an NCAA Regional since 2003 when the Dawgs went 3-2 and came in second place to host Alabama. Plating nine in each game, it also marks the most runs at an NCAA Regional in a single-game since 1971 when SIU plated 12 against Nebraksa.

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