A sweep was just what the doctor ordered for Saluki softball to open Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Dawgs hosted the Illinois State Redbirds and emerged victorious with scores of 1-0, 3-2 and 8-4 over the weekend, and continued to claw their way back towards the .500 mark.
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Friday’s matchup was a pitchers battle, with Emma Gipson taking the circle to start the game. She went 3 innings and gave up no runs on 2 hits before Mckenzie Newcomb took over for the final 4 innings. Newcomb also pitched scoreless ball and racked up 6 strikeouts.
The Dawgs were able to rack up 8 hits against Illinois State’s Paige McLeod, but they only scored one run, which came in the fourth inning. Erin Lee, who got on base with a single, was brought home by an Emily Williams single.
Catcher Anna Carder caught a runner stealing, and the Dawgs finished off their 1-0 victory.
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Saturday’s matchup featured earlier scoring, as Emma Austin crossed home plate in the first inning on a Lee flyout to center field. Austin reached after being walked, and made it to third base on a fielding error.
The Salukis tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third. Carder reached from a Jackie Lis RBI, and Lis scored off when Addi Baker was punched out at first to put the Dawgs up 3-0, which proved to be the winning margin.
Kiana McDowell started for the Salukis and went 2.1 innings while giving up 2 hits and no strikeouts. Newcomb once again entered the game in relief and finished the game, earning 4 strikeouts and hits each.
The biggest offensive game of the weekend for both teams came on Sunday.
Lee once again opened up the scoring, crossing home plate in the bottom of the second inning off a fielder’s choice for Alexis Rudd. The Dawgs tacked on 2 more runs when Maleah Blomenkamp singled into left center and Charley Pursley and Amanda Knutson scored. Knutson initially reached base when she was walked, and Pursley pinch ran for Rudd.
Two more Salukis, Blomenkamp and Austin, scored when Carder doubled to left field. Austin first reached on a fielder’s choice. Williams finished off the scoring for the inning when she brought home Carder on a left side single.
Illinois State scored two runs in the top of the third inning off Gipson. Kaytee Dahlstrom was tagged for a run in the top of the fourth and gave up another in the fifth.
Newcomb entered the game for the last two innings and was once again spotless, giving up only one hit and striking out 5 of the six batters she faced.
The Salukis are now riding a six game win streak, are 3-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play and are 11-14 overall. They will host Missouri State in a midweek series at Charlotte West Stadium on March 18-19, and will travel to Valparaiso for a 3-game series March 21-23.
Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.
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