Game 11 (Championship Game): Southern Illinois 3, UNI 2
 
NORMAL, Ill. – The top-ranked Southern Illinois Salukis (42-9) repeated as the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion with a 3-2 win over No. 2-seed UNI (33-17) in the 2024 MVC Championship title game on Saturday at Marian Kneer Stadium.
 
CONFERENCE NOTES

• With the win, SIU earned its second-straight tournament title, and third in four seasons, winning it in 2021 as well.
• It’s the fifth tournament title of all-time for the Salukis.
• The repeat championship marked the first time since Drake went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 that a team has won in back-to-back seasons.
• SIU’s regular-season and tournament championship sweep marked the 11th time in MVC history and first time since 2019 that a program has claimed both titles. Additionally, it marked SIU’s second sweep of the MVC titles in program history, also doing so in 1991.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Back-to-back jacks by Alexis Pupillo and Kate Lappe helped UNI jump ahead, 2-0, in the opening frame before Samantha Heyer and the Panthers sat the Salukis down in order in the bottom half of the inning.
• A lead-off double by Sidney Jones in the second inning kickstarted SIU’s offensive momentum as an RBI single up the middle from Bailey Caylor helped the Salukis cut into their deficit.
• SIU knotted the score at two-all in the third with a solo shot to right center field by Rylie Hamilton.
• Jones’ third double of the afternoon sent Jackie Lis charging home to give the Salukis their first lead of the game, 3-2, in the bottom of the fifth.
• UNI’s Taylor Hogan used a two-out single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh, but SIU clinched their second-straight championship title with a flyout to centerfield.

With the championship win, Southern Illinois will serve as the MVC’s automatic qualifier in the upcoming 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Salukis will find out their destination and opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, which airs at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.



2024 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Elizabeth Warwick, Southern Illinois
Rylie Hamilton, Southern Illinois
Madi Eberle, Southern Illinois
Maddia Groff, Southern Illinois
Alexis Pupillo, UNI
Kylee Sanders, UNI
Anna Wischnowski, UNI
Olivia Krehbiel, Missouri State
Gracie Johnston, Missouri State
Abby Knight, Illinois State
Paige McLeod, Illinois State
Grace Gressly, Belmont
Zoe Frossard, Evansville
Lauren DeRolf, Bradley
Erin Lackey, Murray State
Isabella Henning, Indiana State
Carey Koenig, Drake
Sydney McDermott, Valparaiso
Larisa Villa, UIC
 
ELITE 17: Samantha Heyer, UNI, 3.96 GPA in Bio