Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball Finishes February in Nashville at Lipscomb Purple and Gold Challenge
02/26/2026 | 11:00:00 | Softball
Southern Illinois Schedule
Friday: Game One - 10 a.m. vs. Western Carolina | Game Two - 12:30 p.m. vs. Purdue
Saturday: Game One - 10 a.m. vs. Purdue | Game Two - 5:30 p.m. vs. Western Carolina
Sunday:Â 1:30 p.m. at Lipscomb
*all times Central Standard Time
Tournament Details
Location:Â Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium - Nashville, Tenn.
Dates:Â Friday, Feb. 27 - Sunday, March 1
Listen:Â The Varsity Network
Watch:Â SIU's lone televised game will be on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Lipscomb. Watch on ESPN+.
Opponents:Â Western Carolina (2x), Purdue (2x), Lipscomb
Live Stats:
- Friday: Game One | Game Two
- Saturday: Game One | Game Two
- Sunday:Â Game One
Weekly Recap
The Salukis hold a record of 8-7 through their opening 15 games of the 2026 campaign.
At the UAB Green and Gold Classic, Southern Illinois went 1-4. SIU won its opening game, 8-3, against Mercer before dropping its next four contests.
In Birmingham, Southern Illinois faced two SEC opponents. On Saturday, Southern lost, 1-0, in nine innings to Ole Miss. Freshman pitcher Hailey Lucas held the Rebels scoreless through eight innings before allowing a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. One day later, SIU fell, 9-0, in five innings to No. 1 Tennessee.
This was the sixth time since 1995 Southern has faced a top-ranked team and first time since 2013 vs. Alabama.
Maleah Blomenkamp led the team in batting average (.333), hits (six), and runs (four) at the tournament, while Erin Lee's .438 on-base percentage and five walks were team-highs. Sydney Potter paced the Salukis in both home runs (two) and RBI (five).
In the circle, Hailey Lucas shined for SIU. Lucas posted a 2.00 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP in 14.0 innings pitched. Emily Delgado recorded a 3.50 ERA and went 1-1 in three appearances. The junior posted a 1.33 WHIP with a team-high 12 strikeouts.
Head-to-Head Records
Western Carolina and Southern Illinois have only met once prior to this weekend in Nashville, with SIU winning the lone meeting, 12-0 (5), in 2007. The two sides played in Tallahassee, Fla., at the Florida State Invitational.
Southern Illinois is 5-5 all-time against Purdue. In 2025, SIU won both meetings in Carbondale at the Coach B. Classic on March 1 and March 2. The Salukis won the first meeting, 5-4, and the second one, 6-5. Southern is 3-2 in the last five meetings.
The Salukis have faced Lipscomb once before, with the Bison winning the previous meeting, 3-2, in 2015.Â
Potter Among Nation's Leaders in Home Runs
Junior catcher Sydney Potter is tied for third in the country with 10 home runs, trailing only Oregon State's Jaeya Butler and UCLA's Megan Grant (both have 11). Potter homered twice in Alabama, and the longest the junior has gone without a homer is three games.
Potter is also tied for ninth in the NCAA in RBI (24) and is 28th in slugging percentage (1.039). The catcher has recorded multiple RBI in nine games, with a season-high six on Feb. 11 vs. Eastern Kentucky.
No Saluki in program history has reached 10 home runs quicker than Potter, who did so in 14 games. The Runnells, Iowa, native homered in each of SIU's first six games, one shy of tying the NCAA record for consecutive games with a home run.
Lucas Continues to Deal
Freshman pitcher Hailey Lucas had another strong week for SIU in Birmingham. In two appearances, Lucas recorded a 2.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and had nine strikeouts with three walks in 14.0 innings pitched.
Against Ole Miss, the freshman allowed just one earned run, three hits, and had zero walks with five strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched. The lone run Lucas gave up against the Rebels came in the ninth inning.
Lucas was listed among NFCA's top performances across Division I softball for her efforts in Alabama.
Williams Leads SIU in Hitting
Emily Williams, who was the 2025 MVC Newcomer of the Year, is hitting .391 so far in 2026. Williams' 1.038 OPS is second on the team while her 18 hits are tied for the most.Â
Williams has posted six multi-hit games with her top performance being a 3-for-3 day with two home runs, seven RBI, and two walks against Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 11 in Mexico.
Outfield Pair's Strong Start
Charleston Pursley and Maleah Blomenkamp have played and started in all 15 games for the Salukis. Blomenkamp has been SIU's primary left fielder, while Pursley has been the primary center fielder.
Both Pursley and Blomenkamp are batting north of .300, with Pursley's .333 batting average ranking third on the team while Blomenkamp's .320 average ranks fourth.Â
Pursley is tied with Sydney Potter for the most runs on the team with 14. The senior had 16 runs in 42 games in all of last year. Blomenkamp played in 21 games in 2025 prior to suffering a season-ending injury.
Looking Around the League
SIU's .533 winning percentage ranks fourth in the conference. Belmont sits in first with a record of 8-5 and a winning percentage of .615. The other two programs ahead of Southern Illinois are Indiana State and Illinois State.
Southern Illinois' 16 team home runs are the second-most in the MVC behind UNI's 18. In the circle, the Salukis are third in team ERA at 3.52. Belmont's 3.08 ERA is a league-best, followed by Murray State's 3.50.
Sydney Potter leads the conference in both home runs and RBI, while her 18 hits are tied with Emily Williams for the sixth-most in the MVC. Erin Lee's 11 walks are tied for fifth in the league.
Pitcher Hailey Lucas ranks third in the Valley in ERA at 1.81 while her 0.85 WHIP is second.
Softball America Rankings
In the first Softball America Mid-Major Top 25 poll of the season, Southern Illinois was ranked 20th. Also ranked from the MVC was Belmont, who was voted third.
The Salukis have already faced two top 25 teams in the poll, sweeping No. 9 Charlotte in two games at the FGCU Kickoff Classic and also No. 17 Long Beach State, who defeated SIU twice in Mexico.
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.
