With the Chicago skyline off in the distance, junior designated player Emily Williams stepped into the box for the final game against the Flames. With two outs and the bases loaded, Williams made school history when she drove in three runs off a double. The bases were cleared, and with those three RBIs, Williams is now the single-season RBI record holder at Southern Illinois with 58 RBIs. 

The Salukis traveled up to the Windy City for a weekend series on May 1 and 2 against the Flames of the University of Illinois Chicago, where they would sweep the Flames 3-0 to end the regular season. 

MAY 1: SIU 2, UIC 1

Freshman pitcher Brooklyn Danielson was the Saluki starting pitcher in the circle. Danielson threw a complete game, pitching seven innings, allowing three hits and an unearned run. Danielson threw 97 pitches, picked up three strikeouts and was the winning pitcher in the contest. Danielson is 10-1 on the season. 

In the bottom of the second inning, sophomore left fielder Sage Grann left her feet and made a sliding catch in shallow left field to steal a Flames hit. 

The Saluki bats scored the first run in the top of the third inning when junior third baseman Amanda Knutson cranked an RBI double to deep left center field. Freshman shortstop Jordan Stewart scored on the Knutson double. 

Williams followed with an RBI double down the left field line to score Knutson from second base. Just like that, the Salukis led the Flames 2-0. 

The Flames would capitalize on an SIU error and score one run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Saluki advantage in half. Behind Danielson’s pitching, the Dawgs were victorious by a final score of 2-1.

MAY 1: SIU 6, UIC 4

A solo shot for the Flames in the bottom of the second gave UIC a 1-0 advantage after two innings. The Saluki offense responded in the top of the third when Williams sent a ball soaring over the right-center wall. Williams and redshirt sophomore right fielder Moleah Blomenkamp scored on the moonshot. The Dawgs were now ahead 2-1.

In the top of the fifth, Grann added two more runs by reaching on an error by the Flames. Grann picked up two RBIs on the error with sophomore Sarah Cook and grad student Brooklyn Pritchett scoring on the play. 

Senior second baseman Erin Lee kept the scoring going with an RBI single to score Grann. Blomenkamp followed Lee with an RBI sac fly to left field to score junior centerfielder Mikaela Coburn. After that four-run fifth inning, the Salukis led  6-1.

Freshman pitcher Hailey Lucas started the game in the circle for Southern Illinois. Lucas pitched two and one-third innings, allowing three hits and one earned run. 

Junior pitcher Emily Delgado relieved Lucas in the third inning. Delgado pitched four and two-thirds innings, surrendering four hits and three runs, only two of which were earned. 

The Flames came up short on a late rally, and the Salukis won the second game by a final of 6-4. Delgado was the winning pitcher and improved to 10-4 on the year.

MAY 2: SIU 11, UIC 6

Both offenses started the game off scoring. Sophomore first baseman Hayden Kurtz singled to shallow right field to score junior catcher Sydney Potter and Blomankamp. In the bottom of the first, the Flames hit a three-run home run and took the lead 3-2 after an inning. 

In the top of the second, Blomenkamp hit an RBI infield single to score Coburn. Coburn showed some great base-running awareness by coming around to score. UIC went back in front by a run after some errors by SIU. UIC was up 4-3 after two innings.

The Salukis exploded in the top of the third for five runs in the half inning. Coburn crushed an RBI triple to left field that scored freshman Delaney Osborne. Senior co-captain Hailey Wilkerson smoked a double off the wall in a pinch-hit appearance to score Coburn.

Williams followed with her record-setting three RBI double that scored Wilkerson, Stewart and Blomenkamp. The Flames picked up a single run in the bottom of the third, but the Dawgs had an 8-5 advantage after three innings. 

UIC scored one more in the bottom of the fifth. Southern Illinois responded with a two-RBI double down the right field line by Lee. Coburn followed that with a double down the left field line to score Lee.

Coburn went 3-4, just a home run short of hitting for the cycle. Coburn scored two runs, drove in two runs, and made a diving catch in right-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Lucas was the starter for the Salukis. Lucas pitched two and one-third innings, allowing six hits and five runs, four of which were earned. Danielson entered in the third to relieve Lucas.

Danielson pitched three innings and surrendered three hits and one earned run. Danielson was relieved by Delgado in the sixth inning. Delgado pitched the remaining inning and two-thirds and shut down the Flames, not allowing a hit. 

The Salukis won the game by a final score of 11-6. With these wins, the Dawgs move to 33-15 overall and 21-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. UIC falls to 21-32-1 overall and 10-18 in MVC play.

The regular season has concluded and the Salukis will be the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament which takes place May 5-9 at Charlotte West Stadium. The Salukis will await the winner of Murray State versus Evansville. Southern Illinois will face the winner of that matchup on May 7, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. 

Sports Reporter Aaron Carnahan can be reached at [email protected] 

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