March 13, 2011

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - With timely hits and strong pitching, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball put its first Ohio Valley Conference victory in the record books.

The Cougars roared past visiting Southeast Missouri 11-1 in five innings to avoid a three-game sweep. SIUE scored in all four innings and held SEMO to five hits in its five innings.

"We had a very strong goal that we wanted to score in every inning. I'm so proud of them for doing that," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery.

SIUE, 8-16 and 1-2 in OVC play, managed nine hits and picked them up at key times. Rachel Coonrod drove in three runs with three hits and scored two more. Taylor Tooley also had three hits, including her second home run of the season.

"It's about timely hitting, and we certainly got that today," said Montgomery.

The Cougars jumped ahead in the first inning against the Redhawks, now 5-12 overall and 2-1 in the OVC. Chelsea Yankolovich opened the game with a walk off SEMO starter-loser Taylor Cowan. She moved to second on a passed ball and scored on a single by Coonrod, who took second on the throw home. After a wild pitch by Cowan, Tooley singled to center field to drive home Coonrod.

Erika Taylor was the winning pitcher for SIUE, running her record to 6-8. The senior right-hander struck out four and allowed five hits. Three of them were singles by Carmen Fowler.

"She (Taylor) threw very well. She was a little sore today. The cold doesn't ever help when you're sore. I was proud of her too," said Montgomery.

SIUE ran its lead to 6-0 in the second on a two-run double by Coonrod and the Tooley's two-run homer. Tooley took over the team lead in RBIs with 11 and raised her season batting average to .303.

SEMO scored its only run with two outs in the third as Fowler singled home Cheyenne Gipson. The Redhawks stranded seven runners in five innings.

The Cougars kept the pressure on with two more runs in the third as Yankolovich singled home Whitney Davis. Kasey Schlafke would score as well on the play due to a SEMO throwing error.

SIUE extended its lead to 10 runs in the fourth. Brianna Fulginiti forced one run home with an infield out, and Schlafke singled two more home.

"We hit the ball today and played the way we are capable of playing," Montgomery said.

SIUE now takes a brief break from OVC play for a pair of mid-week games. SIUE plays single games Tuesday at Southern Illinois (4 p.m.) and Thursday at Indiana State (3 p.m. ET). SIUE's next OVC play March 22 with a doubleheader at home against Murray State.

"I'm just proud of how they came back after yesterday. It was a tense, stressful, and disappointing day. They came out with a lot of heart and character today and got the job done," Montgomery said.

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