March 9, 2010

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville welcomed its first home softball game of the season no matter how misty it was at Cougar Field.

The Cougars, now 10-9 overall, made the most of the chilly day with a 3-1 victory over Missouri State.

"It was nice to play our first game at home," said SIUE Coach Sandy Montgomery. "We love playing in front of our home fans."

Whitney Davis gave Cougar fans some excitement early when she rapped a two-RBI single in the first inning. That scored Chaleen Rumpf and Lindsey Barron to open the game's scoring.

Davis added another hit later in the game and now has a team-leading 11-game hitting streak.

SIUE hurler Erika Taylor improved to 9-6 on the season. She scattered six hits and struck out six for her 13th compete game of the season. Taylor and the Cougars had to battle a dreary and wet field. The Cougars made just one error to Missouri State's three.

"We did a nice job adjusting to the field conditions," Montgomery said.

SIUE added an insurance run in the third inning. Lauren Zembruski drew a walk to lead off the inning and later scored after back-to-back errors by the Bears' infield.

"We came out quick in the first couple of innings and slowed near the end of the game," Montgomery said.

Missouri State, 2-10, would score its only run in the fourth inning. Caitlin Chapin drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on a single to center field by Madison Hargrove. Lauren McGinley, 1-4, suffered the loss for the Bears. The right-hander went 1 1/3 innings before being pulled from the game.

The Cougars packed their bags right after the game and headed to Morehead, Ky. SIUE faces Morehead State, a future Ohio Valley Conference opponent, in a 2 p.m. ET doubleheader Wednesday.

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