From Thursday, March 9 to Saturday, March 11 the Southern Illinois softball team stayed in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a weekend invitational held by the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. During this weekend the Salukis went 3-1; their only loss came from the hands of Appalachian State.

The Dawgs’ first victory was against the hosts, MTSU, on Thursday. SIU defeated the Blue Raiders 5-3 as freshman Jackie Lis continued her hot streak.

By the end of the third inning, the game was tied 3-3. MTSU had scored one point in each of the first three innings, while SIU put up one in the first and two in the third.

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The next three innings would remain scoreless until the seventh. It all came down to the last stretch.

The Salukis would immediately put the pressure on the Blue Raiders as they scored two runs at the top of the seventh. A forced error of a hit by Aubree Dupron put the Dawgs in a great spot to bring home the victory.

The Saluki defense managed to hold up and keep the Blue Raiders scoreless, ensuring their victory.

The next game was played against Appalachian State on Friday. In this game, the Salukis lost 5-2.

After a hot start, scoring two runs at the top of the first, the Salukis wouldn’t score again for the rest of the game. For the Mountaineers of App State, they would go on to score its only points of the game in the bottom of the second.

This was the Salukis’ first loss in its last 11 games.

In SIU’s second game of the day against Western Illinois, it was back to more of that winning formula for Coach Sewell’s squad. Pair up efficient pitching with lots of runs.

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Southern Illinois scored two runs in the first, then three in the second, one in the third, and finished with two in the fourth. The game would be “mercy-ruled” in the fifth inning, leaving the Salukis with an 8-0 win.

Lis and Rylie Hamilton were electric in this game, going a combined 5-6 at bat in this game with a double and a triple, to go along with four RBIs.

In the Salukis’ final game of the weekend, they emerged victorious over Green Bay University almost immediately. They won this game 9-0, the team’s largest margin of victory over this weekend.

The Salukis immediately came out the gates with no mercy, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first. It was more of the same in the second inning, where the Dawgs scored its remaining two runs.

Neither team would score the rest of the way, forcing the game to end early at the top of the fifth.

Overall, the Salukis went 3-1 with a +16 run differential against its competition. The Dawgs hope to continue its incredible run this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14-15 against the Missouri State Bears.

This mid-week series will take place at Charlotte West Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

Assistant Sports Editor Cole Daily can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at cdaily_de

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