Saluki softball did exactly what they needed to during their March 28 and 29 road series against the Belmont Bruins. 

The Dawgs won two of three games to move to 18-15 overall and more importantly, 10-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Salukis are the only team with a single loss, with UNI sitting in second at 7-2.

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SIU kicked off the first game of the series and the top of a doubleheader on Friday afternoon, with Emma Gipson getting the start. 

Gipson went 3 2/3 innings and gave up only 3 hits and 2 runs, 1 of which was earned, before giving way to Mckenzie Newcomb for 1 1/3 innings. Kaytee Dahlstrom came in and ultimately earned the win, pitching the final two innings of the game and giving up 2 hits and 1 earned run with 4 strikeouts.

Elite offensive firepower once again showed up for the Salukis. They piled up 10 runs in their 10-3 win despite leaving 9 batters on base, with Erin Lee being stranded four times. 

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Several Salukis went yard, starting with Lee’s 3-run shot in the top of the fourth. Emily Williams, the reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week, cracked another after hitting four the previous weekend, and Addi Baker directly followed up Williams to make it back-to-back homers in the top of the sixth. Amanda Knutson got a solo shot of her own in the same inning, helping break the game open and give SIU a 9-2 lead. 

The Dawgs were back on the diamond only 30 minutes later for their second game of the day, though playing under the lights didn’t treat them nearly as well in a 5-0 loss.

Belmont’s Maya Johnson, who leads the MVC with a microscopic 0.67 ERA and 206 strikeouts, blanked the Salukis across the full seven innings. Compare that to Newcomb, who is third in ERA and second in strikeouts and has a 1.95 ERA and 89 strikeouts.

SIU sent only 23 batters to the box, and 13 struck out against only two hits. Anna Carder and Charley Pursley were the only batters who collected a hit. Jackie Lis and Mikaela Coburn were also stranded on base. 

Kiana McDowell started for the Salukis and was charged with her fifth loss of the year, giving up 7 hits and 5 earned runs against 3 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Dahlstrom finished the final 1 2/3 innings and gave up two hits and zero runs. 

The Salukis were able to get right on Saturday despite facing Johnson again. 

Gipson started and faced the first six batters before Newcomb entered. Newcomb, who had pitched only one inning in the weekend so far, benefitted from the rest and was able to silence Belmont’s lineup, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks against 2 strikeouts. She also took only 64 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings and 20 batters to pick up her 11th win of the year. 

Head coach Jen Sewell turned in a much different looking batting order. Instead of Austin leading off, followed by Lis and Lee, Lis led off and was followed by Carder, Williams, Lee, and Baker before reaching Austin.

This new order was able to get after Johnson much more effectively. The top of the third was where SIU got on the board after Carder’s second hit brought Lis home. Williams, the next batter, hit a single to score Carder and give SIU a 2-0 lead. 

An insurance run came in the top of the seventh after Baker reached on a fielding error and scored after a Knutson triple and left SIU up 3-0 and Belmont with one more chance. 

Newcomb denied them the opportunity after giving up a hit; she struck out a batter, and the final two outs swung early in the count and fouled and flew out, respectively.

The Salukis (18-15, 10-1), who are now in sole control of first place in the MVC, will return home to Charlotte West Stadium to face off against the Indiana State Sycamores (11-22, 6-3 MVC) on April 4-6. Friday’s game will start at 5 p.m. 

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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