Recap | Salukis with Eight Straight Win Heading into Valley Action

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Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois completed another 4-0 weekend, its second straight, as the Salukis have won eight straight games heading into Valley action. SIU took down Green Bay 5-1 in game one before defeating Loyola 3-2 to finish the day.

Hannah Hockerman made the start and threw her first complete game of the season as she finished the game, allowing just four hits and a walk, while striking out a season-high four. The Phoenix managed to get one run across on a sacrifice fly but it went unearned following a Saluki error.

The Dawgs totaled seven hits in game one, led by Haley Wilkerson who went 2-for-3 with a double in her first start of the season. Sidney Jones got the offense going early for and often for the Salukis with a two-run single in the bottom half of the first.

Freshmen Amanda Knutson and Katherine Johnson added an RBI to each of their stat lines in the first as Knutson got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded followed by a sacrifice fly from Johnson. Coming off consecutive home runs in each of her last two games, Jackie Lis stayed hot at the plate with a two-out single to drive in the fifth and final run of the game.

Despite not scoring past the second inning, the Salukis relied on their defense behind a shutdown performance from Hannah Hockerman to finish the series sweep over Green Bay.

SIU found itself down 2-0 after the first inning against the Ramblers after a Saluki error extended the inning and turned into a two-run home run. The Salukis were able to shutdown Loyola for the rest of the game however thanks to a pair of solid performances from Madi Eberle and Maddia Groff.

Eberle made the start and went 4.2 innings, allowing four hits and a walk with no earned runs to her name. Groff came in and finished the job with four strikeouts over the last two-plus innings as she earned her tenth win of the season to improve to 10-0 on the year.

Southern managed just four hits in the game with none bigger than Elizabeth Warwick's two-run home run in the second inning to tie the game. Sidney Jones led the Salukis going 2-for-3 including a single in the at-bat just before Warwicks. After this weekend, Jones currently leads the team with a .400 batting average while Warwick leads with a .465 on-base percentage.

The Salukis used some small ball to take the lead in the fifth after a leadoff walk from Rylinn Groff. Groff was moved over to the second on a sacrifice bunt from Jenna Christeson and later brought home on a Rambler error. Erin Lee put down another sacrifice bunt, forcing the Rambler defense to shift and leading to an error from the second basemen on a bobbled ball at first base. Groff wasted no time as she sprinted home, scoring easily for the game-winning run.

The Salukis are 15-4 after winning eight consecutive games as they head to Springfield to take on Missouri State for their MVC opener. SIU and the Bears will play a pair of games beginning Tuesday, May 12 at 5 PM followed by a 4 PM first pitch on Wednesday. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

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