MACOMB, Ill. – SIUE softball grabbed a pair of road victories Friday at Western Illinois, defeating the Leathernecks 5-2 in the opener and 16-1 (five innings) in the nightcap.
With Friday's sweep, the Cougars have secured the series win with one more game left to play in the three-game set. Game three of the series is set for noon Saturday at Mary Ellen McKee Field.
SIUE, 25-17 overall and 15-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, set the tone in game one when Lauryn Yslava launched a two-run homer in the first inning over the left field fence.
Western Illinois, 10-31 overall and 6-14 in the OVC, tied the score in third inning, but the Cougars would soon regain the lead in the fifth.
Anna Henderson, who was on base for Yslava's home run in the first inning, singled home Kaylynn Salyars in the fifth. She also rapped an RBI single in the seventh as an insurance run. Yslava added a sacrifice fly to close out the scoring in the seventh.
Avery Arwood, the OVC Pitcher of the Week, struck out three and went the distance. She allowed three hits and improved her season record to 10-7. Lillie Wools took the loss and is now 5-12.
In game two, Kiana Villa went four innings for the win in the circle to improve to 5-0. Reese Ray threw the final inning for the Cougars.
The Cougars grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first inning when a WIU error allowed Yslava and Anna Henderson to score.
The second inning provided the most fireworks when SIUE sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs.
Danielle Shuey opened the scoring in the inning with her third home run of the season. Emma Henderson then added her team-leading 11th home run of the season. Kaylin Fahy ripped a two-run double in the inning. The Cougars also added RBIs from Raegan Duncan, Salyars and another Shuey RBI on a second at-bat in the inning.
Yslava poked her seventh home run of the season to put the Cougars ahead 12-0 in the third inning.
Gretchen Trello came off the bench in the fourth for a two-RBI double to the gap in left center in the fourth.
Harley Limberger and Piper Montgomery added RBIs in the fifth inning.
In all, SIUE finished with 16 hits in game two, matching the season high set three previous times in 2025.