Three weeks ago, it was freshman pitcher Erin Stremsterfer burdened with carrying the pitching load when sophomore Carisa Winters was suspended. Over the weekend, Winters got the opportunity to return the favor.

Stremsterfer sprained her ankle while sliding into second in a Wednesday game against the University of Auburn in Auburn, Ala. The injury forced Winters to carry the pitching load for the SIUC softball team in the Lady Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. Stremsterfer’s status will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

In her absence, Winters ended the tournament 2-2 with an ERA of 1.02 in six appearances to help the Salukis earn a fifth-place finish in the 24-team field. She struck out a career-high 13 batters in SIUC’s 5-2 win Friday over Georgia Southern University before allowing one hit in 3 2/3 innings in a 12-2 blowout of the University of Florida A&M Friday.

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Unfortunately, fatigue set in for the later games for Winters. In both Saturday losses, she was outlasted by the opposing team’s pitchers.

Carisa wasn’t quite as strong, SIUC coach Kay Brechtelsbauer said. [Carisa] was disappointed, but she had some good games. I felt she did very well being that she pitched so many innings throughout the tournament.

Michigan State University pitcher Stefanie Noffsinger, who was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player last year, threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 victory for the Spartans. The University of Mississippi also took advantage of Winters’ fatigue, banging out seven hits in a 4-0 win to eliminate the Salukis from the field.

The defeat left the Salukis with a 15-5 overall record and 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Host Florida State University took first-place honors.

Sophomore shortstop Lori Greiner was one of the offensive bright spots for the Salukis. Her .375 (6-for-16) batting average and three RBIs earned All-Tournament honors. Greiner, known for her play in the field, also showed some offensive ability.

She’s been playing good defense all spring, but now she’s starting to get a lot more contact, Brechtelsbauer said. She’s starting to shift her weight and get her shoulder more into the ball.

Along with the wins of Florida A&M and Georgia Southern, SIUC also defeated the University of Miami of Ohio 12-3 Friday and the University of Connecticut 3-0 Saturday.

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Prior to the Lady Seminole Invite, SIUC defeated Georgia Tech University 6-2 in Atlanta Monday. The Salukis then split a doubleheader Wednesday against Auburn, with both games won by the score of 1-0. A 1-0 win over Penn State University in Tallahassee was the final tune-up before opening tournament play.

The Salukis’ next action will be in this Friday’s Missouri Invitational in Columbia, Mo. Brechtelsbauer’s team will take some valuable hitting lessons learned from the losses to Mississippi and Michigan State into the weekend.

Our players need to see that kind of pitching, so we can be a little more disciplined at the plate, Brechtelsbauer said. That’s something we have to work on, and it can only come with experience.

The play of junior first baseman and tri-captain Theresa Shields has caused some concern also. Shields opened the season by earning MVC Player of the Week honors, but she has struggled lately.

(Shields is) not going to hit a .600 clip like she did the first weekend. She’s pressing it a little bit. It’s not her lack of effort, but it’s the opposite, with her trying too hard.