SIUC would love to have a repeat of Carisa Winters’ performance in the opening game of the 1997 Saluki Invitational.

As a freshman, Winters threw a no-hitter against St. Louis University in a 10-0 win to set the tone for the Salukis’ first-place finish a year ago. Now, she has to take a back seat for another first-year player given the challenge of igniting the team.

SIUC welcomed back freshman pitcher Erin Stremsterfer into the lineup by naming her the starting pitcher for the 1998 Saluki Invitational opener today at IAW Fields. Stremsterfer had been out since March 11 with a sprained ankle.

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The Salukis battle the University of Tennessee-Martin (4-9) at noon and the University of Northern Iowa (6-10) at 2 p.m. SIUC coach Kay Brechtelsbauer said she would prefer to save Winters for conference foe Northern Iowa. The Panthers have won the Invitational four times in the 1990s.

We go according to the teams we play and how successful they have been and what type of hitters they have, Brechtelsbauer said. We want Carisa for Northern Iowa because of the success she’s had against them. It’ll take a little bit of the load off Tracy and Carisa.

No one could be happier for Stremsterfer’s return than Winters and sophomore pitcher Tracy Remspecher. Both have been forced to pitch a large amount of innings in her absence.

But sophomore pitchers Tracy Remspecher and Carisa have picked up the slack. Winters has compiled a 0.83 ERA this season while Remspecher is off to a 4-1 start after recovering from shoulder surgery.

With Stremsterfer in the lineup, the Salukis are no doubt an improved team and could be sitting better than their 16-5-1 record had it not been for her injury.

If we had her at [Florida State University], we definitely would have advanced farther, Winters said. Now that we have, I think there is nothing that can stop us from winning.

Southeast Missouri State University and St. Louis University are the Saluki opponents Saturday in the final day of competition. This weekend marks SIUC’s first home game since a March 1 win over Bradley 9-0.

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The Salukis are coming off a 4-3 win and a 3-3 tie with SEMO Tuesday. Junior infielder Jaymie Cowell, who hit the game-winning single in game one, said the home crowd could help the team avoid another poor defensive showing.

The team committed seven errors in the two games.

We didn’t really play good, Cowell said. Once we get back home, our fans will kind of pick us up. It should give us more confidence.

After a rough preseason, Brechtelsbauer said Cowell is finally living up to junior college successes. At Rend Lake College, she was a two-time juco All-American. Cowell is batting .340 with seven RBIs.

She struggled in the fall, Brechtelsbauer said. She’s coming off being an All-American and a power hitter and driving in a lot of runs. It’s taken her a while to get used the Division I level, but she’s starting to come around.

The Salukis face the University of Tennessee-Martin at noon and the University of Northern Iowa 2 p.m. today in the opening round of the Saluki Invitational at IAW Fields.