With its two-game sweep of Saint Joseph's this afternoon, the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball team earned the No. 1 seed in next weekend's Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships and will be the host institution.
         SIUE will host the eight-team double-elimination tournament, which will begin Friday and conclude Sunday. The other teams in tournament in order by seed are Northern Kentucky, Lewis, Southern Indiana, Bellarmine, Indianapolis, Wisconsin-Parkside, and Saint Joseph's.
         SIUE, 39-9 overall and 17-3, used an offensive outburst to top Saint Joseph's on Sunday. The Cougars won game one 11-5 and topped the Puma's 13-1 in five innings in game two.
         In the first game, SIUE scored five in the third inning and four in the sixth inning. RyAnn Spann picked up the victory while allowing four earned runs on seven hits.
         Jenny Esker was 2 for 4 with four RBIs and home run. Amy Rogers had a grand slam in game one.
         Game two was all SIUE from the get-go.
         The Cougar offense gave SIUE hurler Mary Heather White plenty of run support as she picked up the victory, allowing one run on seven hits.
         Holly Neuerbuerg was 1 for 3 with four RBIs. Esker went 2 for 4 with three RBIs, and Samantha Easterly added a 2-for-3, two-RBI performance in game two. The Cougars will play eighth-seeded Saint Joseph's in the opening game of the GLVC Tournament. The full tournament schedule will be announced on Monday afternoon.