UT Martin Defeats Cougars
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Grace Lueke and Lauryn Yslava hit back-to-back homers in Saturday's second game of a doubleheader, but the Cougars came up empty in the win column.

UT Martin was victorious 8-5 in the opener and 9-5 in the nightcap. The Skyhawks improved to 27-14 overall and 12-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference while SIUE dropped to 15-28 overall and 6-14 in the OVC.

"We gave them way too many opportunities in game one," said SIUE Interim Head Coach P.J. Finigan. "They made the plays and got the big hits when they needed to get them."

Kallie Pickens led the Skyhawks with a 4-for-4 performance in game two with three RBIs.

SIUE made a strong comeback in game two with a four-run fifth that included the Lueke and Yslava home runs.

"It was a really good at bat by Lueke, and Lauryn continues to do what Lauryn does," said Finigan.

Lueke hit her team-leading 10th home run of the season. That is the most by a Cougar in a single season since Alex McDavid blasted 10 during the 2013 season.

Yslava's home run also put her in good company. Home run No. 7 of the season equals the most home runs by a freshman since 2016 when Alyssa Heren led the Cougars in round trippers.

Lexi King recorded four more hits Saturday and extended her hitting streak to nine games. She is hitting .393 in OVC games.

"It sets the table for us," said Finigan. "We just have to capitalize her being on base a little more often."

Amber Storer also hit her third home run of the season in game one and is now fourth on the team in RBIs with 11.

The Cougars had 20 hits for the day against the Skyhawks but couldn't match UT Martin's offense that had seven players with multi-hit games for the day.

SIUE also celebrated the 2020 seniors, which previously had been unable to get their official "Senior Day" due to the pandemic. Sydney Bina, Reagan Curtis, Connor Cutright, Kalei Kaneshiro, Abby Marlow and Amara Wylie were honored between games.

Next up for the Cougars is a return doubleheader. SIUE travels to Eastern Illinois for a 2 p.m. OVC doubleheader Wednesday against the Panthers.