During batting practice before the SIU softball team’s 8-0 victory over Evansville, head coach Kerri Blaylock took a hand at predicting the game.

Blaylock told junior catcher Adie Viefhaus she was going to go yard during the game.

“She was hitting the ball so well I said it’s about time that you come up with a big one,” Blaylock said.

In a season where the Salukis (25-6, 9-3 Missouri Valley Conference) have been crushing the ball all over, predicting a home run seems about as hard as predicting Kent Williams will hit a three-pointer. That is until you realize the only home run Viefhaus has ever hit was an inside the parker back in high school.

Then in the bottom of the third inning Viefhaus stepped up to the plate and cranked a Casey Clutch pitch over the right-center field wall for her first career dinger.

Viefhaus said she had not thought much of her coaches’ prediction and figured she was just making fun of her until she rounded second base and saw Blaylock screaming at her.

“I was laughing so hard when I came around second,” Viefhaus said. “I saw her and she was just like I called it.”

The Saluki bench exploded out of the dugout in celebration and mugged Viefhaus at the plate as she scored to put SIU up 7-0 against the preseason MVC favorites at Charlotte West Stadium-Rochman Field.

Following the game reporters jokingly asked Viefhaus if she was going to keep the ball. She said she did not have the ball, but her family wanted her to hunt it down.

“My mom said, ‘did you get the ball’ and I don’t even know where it is so I said ‘you go get it, mom,'” Viefhaus said. “I don’t know, I might get it. It’s out there somewhere.”

Junior shortstop Jenny Doehring, who earlier hit a three-run home run and finished the day 2-of-3 with four RBIs, said Viefhaus’ home run was just another highlight in a game where the Salukis were hitting on all cylinders.

“That was a big hit and we were all excited for her,” Doehring said.

The game was called after five innings because of the eight-run rule, marking the third straight start for Amy Harre where she has had to throw just five innings because her team obliterated the competition.

Harre allowed just three hits and struck out six Evansville hitters while lowering her league leading ERA to 0.73.

The sophomore ace has been credited with three straight complete games, but has needed to throw just 15 innings to do so.

“I didn’t think about that,” Harre said with a look of shock on her face. “It’s a tribute to the hitters, obviously they’re doing something right. I don’t have any control over that, that’s a good job by them.”

While the Salukis played what Blaylock called their most complete game of the season, the team realizes they didn’t see the best that Evansville has to offer.

“I’m going to tell you right now that they’re a better team than that,” Blaylock said. “We just beat a good team.”

The Purple Aces record dropped to 18-15 and 6-7 in MVC play with the loss, but the Salukis expect to see a different team when they travel to Evansville, Ind., next Wednesday for a doubleheader.

But for the present, the No. 26 ranked Salukis simply smelled blood in the water and took it to Evansville, knowing they could not allow a strong team to stick around.

“When they’re not playing their best, that’s the best time to just attack them and take advantage of everything,” Viefhaus said. “We just made the best of it and played very, very well.”

Reporter Jens Deju can be reached at [email protected]