March 17, 2011

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Erika Taylor collected 11 strikeouts Thursday as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball grabbed a 4-1 road victory at Indiana State.

SIUE improved to 9-16 with the win. The Cougars return to Ohio Valley Conference play Tuesday with a doubleheader against Murray State. Game time is 2 p.m. at Cougar Field.

"Getting a mid-week win on the road is outstanding. I'm obviously happy with the results," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery.

Taylor held Indiana State, now 9-8 overall, to five hits. The Sycamores certainly had its opportunities to score but were unable to acquire timely hits. Indiana State left 13 runners on base, including the bases loaded in second, third and seventh innings.

"She (Taylor) didn't have her best stuff today," noted Montgomery. "She made pitches when she needed to. She got some strikeouts when she needed to. We didn't help her some of the times on defense."

Taylor improved to 7-8. Kristen Felker, 5-3, took the loss for Indiana State. She gave up nine hits and struck out six.

The SIUE offense also missed opportunities with 11 runners stranded on base. The Cougars, however, were able to take advantage of Indiana State mistakes early and led from start to finish.

Freshman shortstop Chelsea Yankolovich led off the game with a single to center. She stole second and moved to third on a fielding error by Indiana State first baseman Bailey Wittenauer. Yankolovich would put SIUE up 1-0 by dashing to the plate on a passed ball.

The Cougars' Lindsey Barron opened the inning with a single, stole second and would later score on a sacrifice fly by Rachel Coonrod.

SIUE extended the lead to 4-0 in the seventh. Coonrod opened the inning with a single. Jill Rackers, pinch-running for Coonrod, would score from first on Taylor Tooley's double to the wall. Tooley would move to third on the throw home. She scored on an infield out by Brianna Fulginiti.

Indiana State would score its only run in the seventh on three straight singles by Lindsey Beisser, Wittenauer and Shelby Wilson.

While pleased with the outcome, Montgomery saw room for improvement.

"We hit the ball pretty well today. We need to dig in when we get runners in scoring position," she said.

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