Erin Stremsterfer showed no rustiness after missing the entire week of practice.

The freshman pitcher won two games for the Saluki softball team en route to the team’s second place finish in Southern Classic this past weekend. Stremsterfer threw a five-hitter Saturday to lead SIUC to a 7-1 victory over Eastern Illinois University. She also pitched a five-inning shutout in a 9-0 win against Bradley University in the final game of the tournament Sunday.

The Salukis finished the weekend 4-1 and improved to 8-2 overall.

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I’m glad we came off with a strong win our last game, said Stremsterfer, who was missed a week of practice because of a death in her family. I came back and had a lot on my mind. I needed some time away, but I don’t think it affected my play much.

The conclusion of the tournament marked SIUC’s final home game until the Saluki Invitational March 27. The Salukis play Monday at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

SIUC’s lone loss of the tournament was to eventual champion Northern Illinois University Sunday morning. Behind a strong performance from pitcher Christy Dalton, the Huskies ended all Saluki title hopes with a 3-1 win.

The loss proved to be costly because both teams finished with 4-1 records, but NIU won the tie breaker based on head-to-head competition.

Dalton allowed four hits, and her off-speed pitches caused problems for SIUC batters the entire game.

We would have liked to win the championship, but right now it’s important to keep getting better and better everyday, SIUC coach Kay Brechtelsbauer said. [NIU’s] got a senior pitcher who throws the ball very, very well. She puts the ball where she wants to, and she had our hitters kind of frustrated. When you face that kind of pitcher and you get one or two runs, you did a good job.

Brechtelsbauer’s team bounced back from the early setback to defeat Southeast Missouri State University 3-0 before blanking Bradley later Sunday. Sophomore shortstop Lori Greiner drove in two runs to lead the Saluki offense over SEMO.

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Missing from the Saluki offense Sunday was junior first baseman Theresa Shields. In the three games she struggled, going 2-for-9 and striking out five times.

Shields said the low temperatures caused some problems for her and the rest of the team.

[The weather] had a lot of effect on us, Shields said. We were pretty cold and I was not ready to play.

But Shields looked more like the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Saturday in the opening round victories against EIU and the University of Kentucky (5-1). She went 3-for-6 and had five RBIs.

The Salukis battle Georgia Tech University Monday at 1:30 p.m. in Atlanta.