Recap | Southern Illinois Lifted by Long Ball in 10-4 Win over Valparaiso on Friday

VALPARAISO, Ind. - The Southern Illinois University softball team (14-14, 6-0) stayed hot on Friday, defeating Valparaiso, 10-4, for its ninth straight win.

Inside the Box Score

The Salukis had 11 hits in the win and gave up eight. Defensively, both teams had one error each.
Freshman Emma Gipson (1-4) picked up her first win as a Saluki on Friday. Gipson went 5.1 innings and allowed seven hits and four earned runs. Fellow freshman Kaytee Dahlstrom earned her first-career save after coming in and posting 1.2 innings pitched with one hit allowed, no runs, one walk, and had three strikeouts.
Southern hit four home runs against Valparaiso. Jackie Lis and Mikaela Coburn went deep in the top of the first, while Erin Lee and Addi Baker went back-to-back in the seventh.

How it Happened

The Salukis opened up the game in a big way, scoring seven runs in the first inning. Lis hit her eighth home run of the season with one out, drilling the ball to left center for the game's first run.

Emily Williams drove in SIU's second run on a sacrifice fly, scoring Anna Carder from third. Then, in a 2-2 count, Coburn hit a three-run home run to right center, the first of her collegiate career.

Sage Grann doubled to right center a few batters later, bringing home Amanda Knutson. Emma Austin followed this up with an RBI single to give the Salukis a commanding 7-0 lead at the end of the top of the first.

Valparaiso answered back in the bottom half, scoring three runs to make it 7-3.

For the next several innings, the game turned into a pitcher's duel, as the score remained unchanged until the bottom of the sixth. There, the Beacons added on one more run to cut the deficit to 7-4 with Southern still on top.

Southern Illinois added on more insurance in the top of the seventh as Lee homered to left field to score two and make it 9-4. In the very next at bat, Baker left the yard for her fifth home run of the season to increase SIU's lead to 10-4.

Dahlstrom finished off the game in the bottom of the inning, working around a one-out walk and a two-out single to secure Southern's 10-4 win.

Up Next
The Salukis will face Valparaiso again on Saturday around 2 p.m. to continue the road series.

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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.

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