Recap | Salukis Earn Series Victory over Belmont with Comeback Win on Senior Day

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1 PM

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Missouri S&T

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Sep 27

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Oct 5

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3 PM

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Illinois Central College

Carbondale, Ill. – Southern Illinois (32-8, 16-3 MVC) earned the comeback 4-3 victory on Senior Day, and the series win over Belmont (27-14, 13-7) in a battle of the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. With the win, Southern has now won six-straight as it extends is lead over Belmont in the MVC standings by another game.

Belmont got on the board in the top of the first with a two-run homer to right after a single began the game. Madi Eberle got out of the inning to limit the damage, working an infield popup, which set the tone for the Dawgs. Eberle picked up five strikeouts in the game.

In the second inning, the Bruins added another run, while Bailey Caylor earned the first hit of the day for the Salukis on a single to left field. Although Southern was unable to bring her across, Caylor's hit marked her fourth of the series after a 3-for-3 day on Friday.

The Saluki defense continued to show up, working to keep the Bruins from plating another. In the top of the third, the Dawgs got out of the inning unscathed after a relay in which Emma Austin dove for a ball in center, threw it to the cutoff Sidney Jones, who fired it to the waiting Anna Carder who tagged out the advancing Belmont runner.

The Salukis got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on a solo shot from Jackie Lis, her 12th home run of the year. The momentum continued as Jones immediately followed with a line drive single to get on base. The Dawgs added on more pressure, as a passed ball from the Bruins moved the runners into scoring position with no outs recorded on the board. Yet, the Bruins held the Salukis to just one run, earning back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.

In the bottom of the sixth, with just six outs to work with, Jones earned her second hit of the day with a single to center, after a walk from Lis began the inning. Rylie Hamilton loaded the bases for the Dawgs with a single into left field. With none away, Addi Baker did her job sending a fly ball out to right field which became the sacrifice fly that scored Lis, making it a one-run game. Caylor earned her fifth hit of the series, which brought the tying run home in Hamilton. An errant throw on the play then allowed the Salukis to plate their fourth run, and the third of the inning, which gave them the 4-3 lead heading into the seventh.

In the top of the seventh, Maddia Groff replaced winning pitcher, Eberle, to seal the door on the Bruins, earning the Dawgs the victory and the series win over the number two team in the conference.

The Salukis are back at 12 PM Sunday for the final game of the series against Belmont, looking to take the sweep.

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