Friday, May 12, 2017

Southern Illinois University defeated Illinois State, 2-0, in the semifinals to advance to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The team has now won six in a row and will play for their first conference title since 2011. 

SIU played a completely different game in the semifinals against Illinois State. Savanna Dover got the start for the maroon and white and she pitched nearly a complete game. Dover held the Redbirds scoreless through 6.1 innings and struck out seven. ISU was able to get four hits in that span and few runners in scoring position, but Dover silenced them at every turn. 

The game didn't get interesting until the seventh inning. After a scoreless top half from SIU, ISU began the bottom half with a hit up the middle. The Redbirds then followed that up with a sacrifice to move the game winning run over to second. Dover then hit the next two batters to load the bases. Head coach Kerri Blaylock then made a pitching change, bringing in Brianna Jones. Jones had thrown more than 100 pitches in SIU's game verses MSU only a few hours ago. ISU's No. 2 hitter was up first. Jones worked a 2-2 count on the batter before she popped one up to shallow right field for out number two. All runners stayed put on the play. The MVC player of the year, Jordan de los Reyes, was up next with the winning run at third base. Jones blew the first pitch right by Reyes for strike one and then got a foul ball. After several pitches the count had worked its way full. With the game on the line Reyes fouled off two pitches to stay alive in the batters box. Jones then dug deep and threw a rise ball past Reyes to secure the third out of the inning and send the game to extras.

Southern wasted zero time in the eighth, getting Brandenburg to second on an error by Illinois State. Harre singled the very next batter to put runners at second and first with nobody out. Merri Anne Patterson then drilled a ball hard at the Redbird shortstop and it ate her up. The error cost ISU a run, as Brandenburg was able to score all the way from second base. With runners now at second and third with one out, Katelyn Massa hit a deep fly ball to center field. The ball was plenty deep for Patterson to score from third, giving SIU a commanding 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth Jones continued her dominance, putting down the Redbirds one, two, three. 

SIU will play for the title tomorrow against the No. 1 seed, Northern Iowa. The first pitch will be at 1 p.m.