April 3, 2011

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Kasey Schlafke hit her second home run in two days Sunday as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball grabbed a 9-4 victory over Jacksonville State.

The Cougars, now 15-20 overall and 7-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference, took the rubber game of the series by outhitting the Gamecocks 10-6. Jacksonville State, the defending OVC Tournament champions, fell to 25-10 overall and 11-3 in the OVC.

"I'm very proud of my team. They have been struggling with confidence. I felt like they showed up today -- really the whole weekend -- and played with confidence," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery.

Heavy winds made fielding fly balls a difficult chore for both teams. Jacksonville State opened the scoring in the second inning with a two-out blooper by Krystal Ruth that was beyond the reach of SIUE second baseman Taylor Tooley.

"You can't blame the wind on anything. Both teams are playing with it. You've got to make adjustments and get the job done," Montgomery said.

Both teams struggled with the wind and used the wind to their advantage.

Schlafke, who finished with a game-high four runs batted in, tied the score in the second with a two-run homer to left field. Her team-leading fifth home run of the season would score Tooley on the play.

"Kasey is very well liked by her teammates," Montgomery said. "So any time she does something good it sparks our team."

The Gamecocks would answer with a pair of solo home runs in the third inning off SIUE winning pitcher Erika Taylor, 11-10. Amanda Crow hit her 11th of the season while Sallie Beth Burch hit her fourth of the season.

Montgomery said she knew the long ball was going to happen today for the Gamecocks. "They are a very powerful team and can swing the bat."

After the home runs, Taylor would settle down and not allow a run the rest of the way. She would strike out four batters.

SIUE cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the third as Rachel Coonrod doubled home Samantha Stanicek, who walked to open the inning. Coonrod led the Cougars with three hits and added three RBIs.

The Cougars would erupt in the fifth. Stanicek opened with a single and stole second off Jacksonville State starter Tiffany Harbin, 14-5. Chelsea Yankolovich followed with an RBI single and moved to second on the throw. That was all for Harbin who would strike out seven but would allow five earned runs in four innings.

SIUE continued to attack offensively off reliever Hilary Phillips. The Cougars picked up an RBI single from Coonrod, a two-RBI single by Schlafke and a perfectly-executed squeeze play by Brianna Fulginiti to close out the scoring.

"We were able to outhit them today. For us to do that offensively that's saying a lot about our program," said Montgomery.

The next action for the Cougars is a single road game Thursday at 4 p.m. against Eastern Illinois. SIUE welcomes Tennessee Tech for a three-game series at Cougar Field next Saturday and Sunday.