Game 9 (Semifinal #1): Southern Illinois 4, Illinois State 2
NORMAL, Ill.– The No. 1-seeded Southern Illinois Salukis (41-9) defeated No. 4-seeded Illinois State (23-31), 4-2, in dramatic fashion with a walk-off seventh inning grand slam by Elizabeth Warwick in the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship semifinals on Friday, May 10, at Marian Kneer Stadium. It marked Warwick's second walk-off hit of this year's tournament.
CONFERENCE NOTES
Southern Illinois is seeking its third MVC Tournament title in the past four league tournaments. SIU is the defending tournament champion and also claimed the league title in 2021. The top seed has now reached the MVC Softball Championship title game in six of the past eight tournaments.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Illinois State started the scoring with an Addison Masching homer in the top of the second, her third of the year.
Southern Illinois' biggest early threat came in the second. Emma Austin led off the inning with a single, and with two outs Erin Lee reached on a two-base error to put runners on second and third, but both runners were stranded.
The Redbirds threatened in the 5th after putting the first two on, but SIU's Maddia Groff got out of the jam thanks to a double play and a strikeout to end the half inning. Meanwhile, SIU had a runner on third again in the bottom of the fifth but could not deliver a two-out hit to break through.
Illinois State tacked on a second run in the top of the sixth to take a 2-0 lead. ISU's Delainey Bryant led off the inning with a single and went to second after a Kaili Chval sacrifice. Bryant scored on an Abby Knight RBI single. Madi Eberle of SIU relieved Groff and shut the door, stranding two runners with a groundout and a strikeout to end the half inning.
Southern Illinois loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth after a walk to Elizabeth Warwick and singles by Rylie Hamilton and with one out, another single by Emma Austin. The final two outs were recorded on groundouts to keep SIU off the scoreboard.
SIU, which has not been shut out in 2024, finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Erin Lee opened the inning with a walk, Anna Carder followed with a single and Jackie Lis was hit by a pitch to set up the stage for Warwick's grand slam heroics.
SIU's Maddia Groff got the start for the Salukis after pitching the Salukis to a 9-inning complete-game win against Murray State on Thursday. Groff threw 168 pitches against the Racers in earning her 29th win of the season against MSU. Illinois State's Paige McLeod was on the mound for the Redbirds for a second-straight day also after leading ISU to a 3-2 win against Bradley on Thursday.
With the win, No. 1 seed Southern Illinois will move on to face the winner of Friday's second semifinal game (No. 2 UNI vs. No. 6 Missouri State). The MVC Softball Championship game is Saturday at 1 pm CT (ESPN+).