CHARLESTON, Ill. - SIUE softball took the rubber game of the three-game series at Eastern Illinois, overpowering the Panthers 10-2 in six innings.
Eastern Illinois won game one Saturday 5-4 in 10 innings. By winning the series, SIUE is now just one game behind the Panthers in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. Both teams are 27-19 overall. SIUE is 17-6 in league play while EIU is 18-5.
SIUE's offense was in high gear during game two with its sixth OVC game in which it scored 10 or more runs.
Anna Henderson drove home the first run of the game in the first inning with a single to left center that brought home
Kaylynn Salyars.
With
Kaylin Fahy and
Madison Kearns reaching base to start the second inning, three straight hits turned into five runs for the Cougars on a Salyars double, an
Emma Henderson single and an
Anna Henderson home run to center field.
Fahy added a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Kearns collected RBI singles in both the fourth and sixth inning.
Kiana Villa collected the win and is now 6-0. She pitched 5 2/3 innings after taking over in the first inning from
Avery Arwood. McKenzie Oslanzi took the loss and is 16-12.
SIUE's bats were formidable but not strong enough in game one.
Lauryn Yslava homered for the Cougars in the fifth inning to give SIUE a 3-2 lead. The teams went back and forth with EIU regaining the lead in the sixth before
Anna Henderson reached on an error and
Danielle Shuey scored to tie the score 4-4 in the seventh.
EIU took the battle in the 10th inning when Abbi Hatton singled home Morgan Hance.
McKayla Anderson suffered the loss for the Cougars with four innings of work and is now 5-8. Oslanzi threw six innings of relief and earned the win.
Next up for the Cougars is a Wednesday road trip to Purdue. Game time is 4 p.m. CT.
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