Brianna Jones of Southern Illinois softball [Photo by siusalukis.com]
The Southern Illinois University softball team swept a pair of NCAA Regional qualifiers from a year ago, Sacramento State and North Dakota State, Saturday night to go 4-0 at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge. SIU, which improved to 7-2 on the season, has now won seven-straight games.
The Salukis (7-2) had three players recognized on the All-Tournament team, including Tournament MVP Brianna Jones. Jones went 4-0 in the circle with a microscopic .74 ERA. The three-time All-MVC First Team selection allowed just 13 hits in 19 innings of work. She also struck out 18 while walking just four.
Ashley Wood and Jenny Jansen also earned All-Tournament honors. Wood hit a team-best .615 (8-of-13) with two extra bases hits and 3 RBI while in Puerto Vallarta, while Jansen hit .412 (7-of-17) with three extra base hits, including her first home run of the season, to go along with a team-high 7 RBI.
Game 1
The Salukis scored three runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to defeat the Sacramento State Hornets, 6-1.
Neither side scored in the opening four innings, but Southern finally got to Sacramento State’s starting pitcher Savanna Corr in the fifth as she approached the 100-pitch mark.
Megan Brown led off the fifth with a home run to left, her first of the season. Sidney Sikes drew a four-pitch walk before Maddy Vermejan doubled to right. After Susie Baranski walked, Jenny Jansen socked a pitch to center field for a single that brought in Sikes. Massa followed with a deep fly ball to score Vermejan.
After the Hornets used a pair of hits to manufacture a run off Jones in the sixth, Southern put up another crooked number in the seventh as Jenny Jansen and Katelyn Massa hit back-to-back home runs to tack on three more runs and put the game out of reach.
Brianna Jones improved to 5-1 on the season with the complete game win. Jones didn’t allow an earned run to lower her season ERA to 1.11. She scattered five hits while striking out a season-high 10.
Jansen and Vermejan each notched a pair of hits in the win. Jansen went 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBI, while Vermejan went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Game 2
Southern clawed its way back from a five-run deficit to tie the game in the sixth and tacked on two more runs with two outs in the top of the seventh to defeat the North Dakota State Bison, 10-8.
The Salukis scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the second as Wood tripled to right to score pinch-runner Meredith Wernig from first. Megan Brown then reached on an error that scored Wood to stake SIU to a 2-0 lead.
North Dakota State cut SIU’s lead in half with a solo home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the second. The Bison added four more runs in the frame to go ahead 5-2.
Wood came through again in the top of the third. After Jansen roped a one-out double to right field, Wood brought her home with a single up the middle to bring Southern to within two, 5-3.
North Dakota State, however, answered with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the third to build an 8-3 advantage.
SIU didn’t flinch though and got four runs back in the top of the fourth. Brown led off the inning with a walk and Shelby Hodo followed with a base knock up the middle. Pinch-hitter Jordan Spicer singled up the middle to load the bases for Vermejan, who walked on five pitches to drive in a run. Jansen hustled down the line on the next at-bat to force an overthrow by NDSU’s pitcher that scored two and made it a one-run game.
SIU’s starting pitcher Claire Miller settled in and retired six of the next seven batters she faced to keep it a one-run game heading into the sixth inning. Vermejan led off the sixth by getting hit in the elbow. Baranski then laid down a bunt on the next pitch and Vermejan, noticing that the third baseman had been drawn in on the bunt, went from first to third and came around to score after NDSU’s catcher muffled a throw when she was attempting to cover third.
Jones entered for Miller and faced the minimum in the sixth thanks to an unassisted double play by Kyleigh Decker. In the seventh, Brown led off with a single, and a sacrifice bunt moved the lead runner to second. Sidney Sikes collected her first collegiate hit to move the runners to the corners with one out. Vermejan again earned a four pitch walk to load the bases. After NDSU recorded the second out of the inning, Jansen delivered a 2-RBI single up the middle to give SIU a 10-8 lead.
North Dakota State used two hits to get one run back in the seventh but Jones induced consecutive groundouts to slam the door and seal the win.
Jones earned the win in two innings of relief to improve to 6-1 on the season. Jansen was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in the win while Wood went 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk and two RBI.
Up Next
The Salukis are at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. beginning on Friday, Feb. 22. The Salukis open against Ohio at 11 a.m. and take on Western Michigan at 1:30 p.m. Southern will play a total of five games during the three-day event.
