Blues City Tournament
Memphis, Tennessee (Tigers Softball Complex)
Friday, Feb. 23
vs. DePaul, 10 a.m.
vs. Indiana State, 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24
vs. DePaul, 9 a.m.
at Memphis, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25
vs. Indiana State, 11:30 a.m.
Video
ESPN+ (Memphis game only)
Live Stats
SIUEstats.com
SERIES SWEEP
SIUE is coming off a three-game sweep against Texas A&M Commerce. The Cougars outscored Texas A&M Commerce 22-10.
SERIES RECORDS
SIUE is tied 1-1 all-time with Memphis. The Cougars defeated the Tigers last season 3-0 as
Sydney Baalman and
Kelsey Ray combined on a five-hit shutout. SIUE is 6-2 all-time against DePaul and 2-2 all-time against Indiana State.
LAST SEASON
SIUE is coming off a 30-26 season in which the Cougars advanced to the title game of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Cougars won 10 of their last 12 games and the season-best six straight games to close out the regular season. SIUE, the No. 5 seed at the 2023 OVC Championships, knocked out the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the tournament.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
Rylie Pindel recorded a win during week one of the season and two saves in week two of the season. She leads the Ohio Valley Conference with two saves.
DOUBLES LEADER
Paige Rocha leads the OVC with five doubles and is 10th nationally in that category.
LONG BALL
Lauren Yslava, who was named the Prairie Farms Athlete of the Week, leads the OVC in home runs with two. She shares the OVC lead with Southeast Missouri's Paige Halliwill and Tennessee State's Nahtali Simpson.
HIT MACHINE
Rocha recorded a Division I era-best 74 hits last season. It was the most hits by a Cougar since Alicia DeShasier hit 82 in 2006. All four of the players who have more hits in a season by the Cougars now reside in the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame (DeShasier, Jenny Esker, Katie Waldo and Erin Newman). Rocha continued that trend with a team-leading 11 hits during the first eight games.
100 STRIKEOUTS
Baalman and Ray were neck and neck in strikeouts last season. Ray finished ahead with 103 in 132.2 innings pitched. Baalman recorded 101 in 154.2 innings pitched. Ray and Baalman have eight each this season.
START OF AN ERA: Lone Tree, Iowa, native
Ben Sorden is in his second season as head coach of the Cougars. Sorden came to SIUE after holding positions at Michigan State and Indiana, helping the pitching staffs to national honors and top-notch results.
