Recap | Softball Defeats No. 4 Illinois State, 8-3, to Advance to MVC Championship

Calendar

Sep 21

1 PM

Softball

Jefferson College

Sep 27

1 PM

Softball

St. Charles CC

Oct 5

1 PM

Softball

Parkland College

Oct 5

3 PM

Softball

Illinois Central College

DES MOINES, Iowa - For the third consecutive season, the No. 1 Southern Illinois University softball team (33-19, 21-5) will play in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship after defeating No. 4 Illinois State, 8-3, on Friday.

Southern Illinois will play either No. 2 Belmont or No. 3 Northern Iowa in the MVC Championship on Saturday, May 10, at 1 p.m. There, SIU will look for its first three-peat in program history.

"I'm so impressed with how aggressive we've been at the plate on good pitchers," head coach Jen Sewell said. "Just absolutely locked in up and down the lineup card. In this tournament, you have to be loose and ready for your moment. And so far we've been ready. Newcomb had to be tough today - hitters have a lot of knowledge against pitchers. She mixed it up and executed when she had to. I can sense this team is truly excited about tomorrow's championship and looking forward to the challenge."

Inside the Box Score

The Salukis scored eight runs on 12 hits with two errors in Friday's win. Illinois State tallied three runs on eight hits and also had two errors.
Three of SIU's runs came in the second inning and four came in the fifth. The Redbirds' lone three runs were scored off a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning.
McKenzie Newcomb (20-5) posted her 20th win of the season after allowing six hits, three runs (zero earned), no walks, with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched.
Sage Grann led the way offensively as the freshman went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Junior Jackie Lis also posted a 2-for-3 day with two RBI. Erin Lee and Mikaela Coburn both scored two runs each.

How it Happened

With one out in the top of the first inning, senior McKenzie Newcomb entered the game for freshman Emma Gipson and stranded two Redbirds on base.

The Salukis had a productive bottom half of the first, as Emma Austin reached on an error before Jackie Lis drove her in off of a sacrifice fly. One inning in, Southern had a 1-0 lead.

It was another strong showing by Southern Illinois in the second as Newcomb posted a scoreless top half of the frame and the offense tallied three runs in the bottom half to take a 4-0 lead. Sage Grann singled up the middle to score Erin Lee for SIU's first run of the inning.

Austin then singled to score Mikaela Coburn, followed by a Lis single to bring home Grann for the 4-0 advantage.

Illinois State got on the board in the fourth inning with a three-run home run to make it a one-run game. All three runs were unearned.

Southern's next big inning came in the bottom of the fifth. First, it was freshman Hayden Kurtz who reached on an error, leading to Lis coming around to score. The Salukis' next two runs came off of a Grann single to score both Lee and Addi Baker, giving the freshman left fielder three RBI on the day.

Amanda Knutson singled through the right side to drive in Coburn to make it 8-3 in favor of Southern Illinois in the bottom of the fifth.

Newcomb worked around trouble in the sixth, leaving two Redbirds on base. In the seventh, the senior fired a 1-2-3 inning to finish off SIU's 8-3 win over Illinois State.

Up Next
Southern Illinois will play for its third straight MVC Championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa. It will face either No. 2 Belmont or No. 3 Northern Iowa.

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