Recap | Softball Drops First Two Games of San Marcos Classic as Offense Struggles

San Marcos, Texas – Southern Illinois softball (1-10, 0-0) began their final non-conference road tournament of the season Sunday morning. They first took on Kansas (5-5, 0-0) before playing the host school, Texas State (9-2, 0-0), later in the afternoon. Southern's offense was sluggish all day, scoring just two runs between the games while losing 4-1 to Kansas and 2-1 to Texas State.

Game One: 4-1 L vs Kansas

Inside the Box Score

Haley Wilkerson hit her first homerun of the year to drive in SIU's only run. She also had the lone Saluki hit.
In relief, McKenzie Newcomb pitched four innings of one hit ball while allowing no runs.

How It Happened
After a one-two-three inning from the Salukis in the top of the first, Kansas started the scoring in the bottom half of the inning. With the leadoff hitter on first, a double to left field drove the game's first run in. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to third before a single scored another Jayhawk to set the score at 2-0.

Wilkerson grabbed a run back for Southern in the second inning thanks to her first home run of the year, a solo shot making it 2-1. However, Kansas bumped their lead back up to two in the next half inning. With two runners in scoring position, a flyout to left field allowed one run to score, setting the score at 3-1.

Following a quiet top of the third from the Saluki bats, the Jayhawks added another run to their total. While a runner was at every station with one out, the Kansas batter laid a bunt down to Wilkerson at third, letting another Jayhawk cross homeplate. Luckily for SIU, that was the only run to score out of the bases loaded situation.

With the score at 4-1 in favor of Kansas, neither team was able to cross home plate for the final four innings, meaning the scoreboard read 4-1 in favor of Kansas after the final out.

Game Two: 2-1 L vs Texas State

Inside the Box Score

Emily Williams drove in SIU's only run with a solo homerun in the second inning.
Charley Pursley was the only Saluki to have a multi-hit game, going 2-3 at the plate.
Emma Gipson and Newcomb combined for six innings of work in the circle while allowing just two runs.

How It Happened
Williams put the first run on the board with a solo shot in the second inning to give Southern a 1-0 lead. However, Texas State did not stay down for long. Their leadoff hitter in the bottom of the second responded with a solo homer of her own to tie the game 1-1. Then, with a runner at second, a double down the left field line put the Bobcats in front 2-1.

The pitchers and defenses then took over for the final five innings as no runs were scored, ending the game 2-1 in favor of Texas State.

Up Next
The San Marcos Classic concludes tomorrow, Monday, for SIU. Southern and Kansas will play at 9:30 a.m. before the Salukis and Texas State match up one more time at 12 p.m.

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.

Calendar

Upcoming Events