Preview | Softball Concludes Regular Season With Trip to Evansville
05/01/2025 | 5:00:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois softball (29-18, 19-4) heads to Evansville this weekend to face off against the Purple Aces (18-31, 4-20) in the final regular season series of the year.
Details
-Date: May 2-4
-Location: Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium
-Opponent: Evansville
-Live Results: Friday (5 p.m.) | Saturday (2 p.m.) | Sunday (12 p.m.)
-Watch: Saturday (2 p.m.) | Sunday (12 p.m.)
-Listen: The Varsity Network
Last Time Out
The Salukis are coming off a series win against Murray State last weekend; it was the final home series of the year for SIU.
The Salukis won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 7-1. Jackie Lis led the way with three RBIs while Mikaela Coburn added two. Pitchers McKenzie Newcomb and Emma Gipson allowed no earned runs in their seven innings of combined work.
Southern then won game two on Saturday, 10-1, in five innings. Lis and Coburn continued their monster days with a home run each, and Sage Grann and Alexis Rudd had multi-RBI days as well. Kaytee Dahlstrom threw the five-inning complete game, allowing just one run and three hits. Following the game, the Salukis honored five seniors during their Senior Day ceremony. Those five were Newcomb, Rudd, Addi Baker, Emma Austin, and Chloe Scroggins.
The Murray State series ended on Sunday with a 5-4 Racer win. Baker hit a solo homer in the game and Anna Carder had SIU's other two RBIs in the game. Newcomb kept the Salukis in the game coming out of the bullpen, throwing 5.2 innings of scoreless ball.
Weekly Honors
Following the Murray State series, a pair of Saluki were honored with weekly awards from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Lis was named Player of the Week. The junior shortstop went 7-for-10 (.700) with a home run, five RBI, four runs scored, and four walks in Southern Illinois' four-game week versus UT Martin and Murray State. Lis finished the week with a slugging percentage of 1.100 and an on-base percentage of .786. This was Lis' third time being named Player of the Week.
Meanwhile, Newcomb earned the title of Pitcher of the Week. Newcomb went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances during the week. The senior allowed seven hits, one unearned run, two walks, and 11 strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched. Opponents had a batting average of just .179 against the veteran pitcher. This was the third time Newcomb has been named Pitcher of the Week this season.
The Series and the Matchup
The Salukis are 77-29 against Evansville all-time. They met for a three-game set in Carbondale last season where the Salukis swept Evansville while outscoring the Purple Aces 33-4. Evansville's last win against Southern came the last time the two met in Evansville; on April 9, 2023, the Purple Aces beat SIU 2-0 to clinch a series victory.
The Purple Aces currently sit with an 18-31 overall record while going 4-20 in MVC play. At the moment, they are on a six-game losing streak after being swept by Bradley and Murray State in back-to-back series.
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.
Details
-Date: May 2-4
-Location: Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium
-Opponent: Evansville
-Live Results: Friday (5 p.m.) | Saturday (2 p.m.) | Sunday (12 p.m.)
-Watch: Saturday (2 p.m.) | Sunday (12 p.m.)
-Listen: The Varsity Network
Last Time Out
The Salukis are coming off a series win against Murray State last weekend; it was the final home series of the year for SIU.
The Salukis won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 7-1. Jackie Lis led the way with three RBIs while Mikaela Coburn added two. Pitchers McKenzie Newcomb and Emma Gipson allowed no earned runs in their seven innings of combined work.
Southern then won game two on Saturday, 10-1, in five innings. Lis and Coburn continued their monster days with a home run each, and Sage Grann and Alexis Rudd had multi-RBI days as well. Kaytee Dahlstrom threw the five-inning complete game, allowing just one run and three hits. Following the game, the Salukis honored five seniors during their Senior Day ceremony. Those five were Newcomb, Rudd, Addi Baker, Emma Austin, and Chloe Scroggins.
The Murray State series ended on Sunday with a 5-4 Racer win. Baker hit a solo homer in the game and Anna Carder had SIU's other two RBIs in the game. Newcomb kept the Salukis in the game coming out of the bullpen, throwing 5.2 innings of scoreless ball.
Weekly Honors
Following the Murray State series, a pair of Saluki were honored with weekly awards from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Lis was named Player of the Week. The junior shortstop went 7-for-10 (.700) with a home run, five RBI, four runs scored, and four walks in Southern Illinois' four-game week versus UT Martin and Murray State. Lis finished the week with a slugging percentage of 1.100 and an on-base percentage of .786. This was Lis' third time being named Player of the Week.
Meanwhile, Newcomb earned the title of Pitcher of the Week. Newcomb went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances during the week. The senior allowed seven hits, one unearned run, two walks, and 11 strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched. Opponents had a batting average of just .179 against the veteran pitcher. This was the third time Newcomb has been named Pitcher of the Week this season.
The Series and the Matchup
The Salukis are 77-29 against Evansville all-time. They met for a three-game set in Carbondale last season where the Salukis swept Evansville while outscoring the Purple Aces 33-4. Evansville's last win against Southern came the last time the two met in Evansville; on April 9, 2023, the Purple Aces beat SIU 2-0 to clinch a series victory.
The Purple Aces currently sit with an 18-31 overall record while going 4-20 in MVC play. At the moment, they are on a six-game losing streak after being swept by Bradley and Murray State in back-to-back series.
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.
Players Mentioned
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C
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OF
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P
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INF/OF
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INF
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P
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DP
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2B/OF
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