Recap | Softball Advances to MVC Semifinals After 12-4 Win over No. 8 Drake on Thursday

DES MOINES, Iowa - Playing against the host school and No. 8 seed Drake, the No. 1 Southern Illinois University softball team (32-19, 21-5) run-ruled the Bulldogs, 12-4, in five innings.

With the win, the Salukis have advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals where they will play No. 4 Illinois State on Friday, May 9, at 1 p.m.

Inside the Box Score

Southern Illinois scored 12 runs, its most in a conference tournament game since 1992. SIU also had nine hits and no errors in the win.
Freshman Emma Gipson (3-4) got the win after allowing five hits, four runs, one walk, with two strikeouts across four innings pitched.
Anna Carder and Emily Williams both went deep in the ballgame, with the two home runs both coming in the third inning. The Salukis scored seven runs in the third after putting up five in the second.
Emma Austin went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Addi Baker also had a two-hit game with one run scored. Carder drove in a team-high three runs on Thursday, as Williams and Jackie Lis joined Austin with two RBI each.

How it Happened

With two runners on and one out in the top of the first inning, freshman Emma Gipson navigated her way through trouble with a strikeout and a lineout to end the frame unscathed.

The Salukis' first runs of the game came in the bottom of the second. Sage Grann got the scoring started with an RBI single to bring home Addi Baker. Emma Austin then singled to score Mikaela Coburn and give SIU a 2-0 lead.

Jackie Lis hit a single to second, leading to three runs coming across to score to put the Salukis ahead, 5-0.

After Gipson fired a 1-2-3 frame in the top of the third, Southern Illinois exploded for seven runs in the bottom half of the inning. Erin Lee and Coburn were the first two Salukis to score before Anna Carder hit a three-run home run to left field to make it 10-0.

Lis walked, setting the stage for Emily Williams to hit her 17th home run of the season, which is tied for the most in a single-season in program history (with Lis from 2023).

Williams' home run gave the Salukis a dominant, 12-0 advantage. The 12 runs are the most SIU has scored in a conference tournament game since it scored 13 vs. Northern Iowa on May 8, 1992. This game was also in Des Moines, Iowa.

Despite the Bulldogs scoring two runs in the fourth and another two runs in the fifth, the Salukis held on for the 12-4 victory.

Up Next
Southern Illinois will face No. 4 Illinois State in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m.

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