Salukis Drop Second-Straight At Home
04/22/2023 | 8:50:00 | Softball
Southern got out to a quick start with patient at-bats as they drew a pair of walks along with Rylie Hamilton getting hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs freshman Haley Wilkerson drove in the first two runs of the game on a hard hit ground ball that hugged the right foul line and made its way to the grass to score Jackie Lis and Hamilton. Emma Austin added to SIU's lead in the next at-bat as she beat out an infield single that brought in Chloe Scroggins after she came in to pinch run for catcher Anna Carder.Â
Hannah Hockerman had it going early for the Dawgs in the circle with three strikeouts through the first two innings. The Braves were able to get on the board in the third however on a two-run home run to make it a one-run game.Â
Southern answered in the third as Wilkerson drove in her third RBI of the night on a sacrifice bunt to bring in Rylie Hamilton for her second run of the game. Wilkerson's three RBIs today mark a new season-high for the freshman who made her second career start at SIU today.
As the game continued to go back-and-forth, the Braves tied the game in the top of the fourth on a couple of one-run singles with the bases loaded. Madi Eberle came in for Hockerman in the fourth with two outs and the bases and gave up a single on a line drive to third that was almost caught by Rylie Hamilton but was just out of reach as it flared off the top of her glove.Â
Making the start in right field, Bailey Caylor made a diving catch on a hard hit ball to right center field on the first pitch of the fifth inning. As Caylor was sprinting towards the warning track she took a leap and fully extended to make the play and steal what would've likely been a leadoff double for Bradley.Â
After being held scoreless in the fourth, the Salukis regained the lead on a RBI-single from Anna Carder that brought in Jackie Lis in the fifth.. Hamilton and Lis both scored two runs on the day as Hamilton is now 4-for-6 in the first two games of the series.Â
Bradley had its biggest inning of the game in the top of the seventh as they tallied four hits to score two runs and take the lead for the first time all afternoon. With the bases loaded and two away, Emma Austin tracked down a ball in left center field to make another diving catch for SIU after Caylor's in the fifth. Austin's catch saved what looked like would have been two more runs to Bradley's lead with the inning continuing with runners on.
The momentum didn't carry over to the bottom half of the inning as the Salukis went down in order to lose their second-straight by just one run. The Salukis and Braves will conclude the series tomorrow at noon.Â
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