Friday, March 29
Carbondale, Ill.
5 PM
Southern Illinois University
23-6, 0
1
vs
2
University of Northern Iowa
15-10, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Northern Iowa
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
6
4
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
1
Recap | Salukis Take First Valley Loss
03/29/2024 | 10:10:00 | Softball
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois (23-6, 8-1 MVC) fell 2-1 to UNI (15-10, 3-1 MVC) in the series opener Friday evening, giving Southern its first Valley loss off the season after winning its first eight.
After several runs early, both offenses were held at a standstill for the remaining four innings. UNI got on the board in the first with a two-out rally after a pair of hits brought home third basemen Kate Lappe.
The Salukis were able to come back and tie the game on a Jenna Christeson RBI just an inning later as she took her first at-bat of the day with the bases loaded. Christeson rolled a ground ball to the right side giving Amanda Knutson more than enough time to get home safely and tie the game at a run a piece.
However, the Panthers would answer in the top half of the third with a solo home run, making the difference in the final result.
Freshman Maddia Groff (15-1) took her first loss of the season despite striking out nine batters. She allowed six hits and two walks but went on to retire seven-straight Panthers from the third to fifth inning. Twin sister and catcher Rylinn Groff threw out a runner trying to steal second as well as notching a hit, going 1-for-3 on the day.
The Salukis totaled just five hits on the day as they struck out nine times, a season-high. Bailey Caylor led the Salukis off with a single in the seventh but the Panthers were able to shut the door and take the series opener.
Southern will look to even the series on Saturday at 2 PM. All home Saluki softball games are free admission or can be streamed on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Softball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball and on Instagram at @SIU_Softball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
After several runs early, both offenses were held at a standstill for the remaining four innings. UNI got on the board in the first with a two-out rally after a pair of hits brought home third basemen Kate Lappe.
The Salukis were able to come back and tie the game on a Jenna Christeson RBI just an inning later as she took her first at-bat of the day with the bases loaded. Christeson rolled a ground ball to the right side giving Amanda Knutson more than enough time to get home safely and tie the game at a run a piece.
However, the Panthers would answer in the top half of the third with a solo home run, making the difference in the final result.
Freshman Maddia Groff (15-1) took her first loss of the season despite striking out nine batters. She allowed six hits and two walks but went on to retire seven-straight Panthers from the third to fifth inning. Twin sister and catcher Rylinn Groff threw out a runner trying to steal second as well as notching a hit, going 1-for-3 on the day.
The Salukis totaled just five hits on the day as they struck out nine times, a season-high. Bailey Caylor led the Salukis off with a single in the seventh but the Panthers were able to shut the door and take the series opener.
Southern will look to even the series on Saturday at 2 PM. All home Saluki softball games are free admission or can be streamed on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Softball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball and on Instagram at @SIU_Softball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wischnowski, Anna (8-3)
L: Groff, Maddia (15-1)
Batting:
2B: Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; McElrath, Addison 1
HR: Pupillo, Alexis 1
RBI: Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; McElrath, Addison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; Lappe, Kate 1
SB: Sanders, Kylee 1
CS: Parks, Madison 1
Batting:
RBI: Christeson, Jenna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knutson, Amanda 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
INF
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