Recap | Softball Clinches MVC Regular Season Title for Second Straight Year

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Southern Illinois University softball team (31-19, 21-5) clinched the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title on Sunday after defeating Evansville, 11-1.

"Just incredibly proud of our players and their fight today," head coach Jen Sewell said. "Their regular season is an incredible body of work. What they went through in February to never question it and then get on this roll is quite the feat. When players come to this program they know the target is always on their back. And once again these seniors leave their mark. We became a team in the toughest moments. Can't wait to get to work in Des Moines."

This is the second straight season where Southern Illinois has won the MVC regular season title, and first time since 2004-05 going back-to-back. SIU also won the MVC regular season championship in 2010.

Prior to 2004, Southern's previous regular season title came in 1991 when it was a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC).

The Salukis finished the regular season 21-5 in conference play and 31-19 overall en route to earning the No. 1 seed in the MVC Tournament next week in Des Moines, Iowa.

Southern Illinois' first game in the tournament will be on Thursday, May 8, at 10 a.m. with its opponent to be determined.

Inside the Box Score

The Salukis scored 11 runs on 14 hits and had one error in the championship-clinching game.
McKenzie Newcomb (19-5) earned her 19th win of the season after allowing two hits, no runs, two walks, with one strikeout in 3.2 innings pitched. Emma Gipson started the game and allowed three hits, one run, two walks, with one strikeout in 3.1 innings pitched.
Both Emma Austin and Emily Williams had three-hit games, with Austin also scoring four runs. Anna Carder had a team-high three RBI in a 2-for-5 effort on Sunday.

How it Happened

The Salukis took a 1-0 lead just two batters into the game. Emma Austin singled then stole second, her program-record 65th stolen base of her career. Austin came around and scored after an Anna Carder single.

Austin once again scored in the third inning off of a Jackie Lis sacrifice fly, making it 2-0 in favor of Southern Illinois.

The score remained 2-0 up until the bottom of the fourth as Evansville drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Due to rain, the game went into a lengthy delay during the top of the fifth inning. When play resumed, the Salukis scored three runs, starting with a Lis single to score Austin's third run of the game.

One batter later, Emily Williams stepped up and hit a two-run home run, her 16th of the year. The 16 home runs are tied for the second-most in a single-season in program history with Lis from 2024.

Southern Illinois added on three more runs in the sixth as Austin drove in Mikaela Coburn with an RBI single before Carder doubled to score two and make it 8-1 SIU.

In the seventh, Southern again scored three runs, with the first coming off of a Erin Lee single to bring home Addi Baker. Coburn and Sage Grann drove in the other two runs in the inning.

McKenzie Newcomb finished off the Purple Aces in the bottom of the inning to end the game with Southern winning it, 11-1.

Up Next
The Salukis, as the MVC Tournament's top seed, will wait to find out who they will face in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 8, at 10 a.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.

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