Southern Illinois and Illinois State were tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Junior catcher Sydney Potter was on second after a double to right-center field. Sophomore first baseman Hayden Kurtz stepped up to the plate with a chance to send the Salukis to the semi-finals. Kurtz came up with a clutch RBI single to left-center field to score Potter and seal the victory for the Dawgs.

An elimination game between the second-seeded SIU Salukis and the fifth-seeded Illinois State Redbirds on Friday, May 8, at Charlotte West Stadium. 

Freshman pitcher Hailey Lucas started in the circle for the Salukis. Lucas pitched around a lead-off single and kept the Redbirds scoreless in the top of the first inning. The Saluki offense stranded two runners and was held scoreless in the bottom of the first inning. The score was 0-0 after the end of the first inning.

Lucas allowed one hit in the top of the second inning, but forced some weak contact and picked up a big strikeout to keep the Rebirds off the scoreboard. The Saluki bats hit into three straight groundouts in the bottom of the second inning, and the game remained 0-0 after two innings. 

Illinois State hit two singles in the top of the third inning, and Lucas picked up two big strikeouts to keep the game scoreless. The Saluki bats failed to score in the bottom of the third inning, and the score was 0-0 after three innings.

Lucas continued to hold the Redbird offense at bay in the top of the fourth inning. Lucas exited the game after the fourth inning, finishing with four innings pitched, surrendering five hits, no runs, and striking out six Redbird batters.

The Saluki offense threatened in the bottom of the fourth with a walk from sophomore left fielder Sage Grann, and a pair of singles from Kurtz and junior centerfielder Mikaela Coburn. Senior co-captain Hailey Wilkerson pinch hit with bases loaded and lined into an inning-ending double play to third base. The score stayed knotted at 0-0 after four innings of softball.

Junior pitcher Emily Delgado entered the game for the Salukis to pitch the top of the fifth inning. Illinois State loaded the bases with one out, but a strikeout and a flyout got the Dawgs out of the fifth-inning jam.  The Southern Illinois offense was held scoreless in the bottom half of the fifth, and the pitcher’s duel continued with a score of 0-0 after five innings.

Delgado pitched out of another jam in the top of the sixth inning, with Illinois State stranding two baserunners. The Salukis went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, and the game stayed scoreless after six innings.

The Redbirds went down to end the top of the seventh inning. Coburn began the bottom of the seventh inning with an infield single to shortstop. SIU was unable to capitalize on the lead-off single, and Southern Illinois was headed to its second straight game in extra innings.

Delgado held Illinois State to no runs in the top of the eighth inning, and the Salukis had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the eighth. 

After two quick outs, Potter doubled, giving Kurtz a chance to win the game with two outs, and Potter was standing on second base. Kurtz did just that, with a base hit to left field to score Potter and win the game for SIU in walk-off fashion.

Delgado was the victorious pitcher, moving to 11-5 on the season. The fifth-seeded Illinois State Redbirds were eliminated. The second-seeded Southern Illinois Salukis advanced to the semi-finals to take on the third-seeded Murray State Racers in a rematch from the previous day.

The elimination game between SIU and Murray State would be played at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8, at Charlotte West Stadium. The winner of the semi-final game will advance to play the first-seeded Belmont Bruins in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship game. The loser will be eliminated from the MVC Tournament.

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

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