May 12, 2011

Box Score

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball will have to work its way through the consolation bracket of the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament after dropping an eight-inning decision to open play Thursday at Williams Field.

Fifth-seeded Southeast Missouri, 28-28, topped fourth-seeded SIUE 4-3 in the opening game of the tournament for both teams. SIUE, 28-29, will face off against UT Martin in Friday's first game at 10 a.m. Third-seeded UT Martin was a 3-2 loser to No. 6 seed Murray State in another opening-round game.

SIUE had all of the momentum midway through the game as Taylor Tooley hit her team-leading eighth home run of the season in the third inning. Tooley plated Lindsey Barron and pinch runner Jill Rackers in front of her to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.

Erika Taylor, a first team All-OVC selection, faced the minimum number of hitters in the first three innings and worked out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings.

"She (Taylor) threw well enough to win. We just didn't score after that. You can't go up 3-0 and then quit scoring," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery.

SEMO cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth. Evan Sallis scored first as she made it to home after the Cougars were trying to get Carmen Fowler in a rundown. Fowler would escape a tag and make it to second. She moved to third on an infield out and would score on a wild pitch.

SIUE was one out away from victory in the seventh when SEMO would tie the game. With Kaitlin Wallace on second and Cheyenne Gipson on first with two outs, Sallis would elude a tag by Cougar first baseman Rachel Coonrod at first for an infield single. Meanwhile, Wallace rounded third and scored on the play.

SEMO would add the eventual winning run in the eighth. Wallace would draw a walk after the Redhawks picked up three singles to load the bases.

Montgomery said Taylor threw well the whole game. "They got a lot of bleeders today but they did the last time we played as well," she added.

"That's not typical of us," Montgomery continued. "We'll come back tomorrow and be ready to go."

-siue cougars-