CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Drake University softball team held on for a 7-6 victory over Southern Illinois Saturday in the final game of a Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader at Charlotte West Stadium.
Drake (5-14, 1-1 MVC) earned a split with SIU (19-3, 1-1 MVC), which won the opening game by a score of 10-2 in six innings. The Bulldogs' victory in the second game snapped the Salukis' 22-game home winning streak, the third-longest streak in the country coming in. It was opening week of league play for the teams.
In the second game, Drake scored its first run in the first inning with
Delaney Taylor's double to left center that scored
Libby Ryan, who doubled with one out. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 4-0 in the third with
Emily Valtman's fielder's choice that drove in
Macy Johnson and two batters later
Emma Richards drove in Ryan and Makayla Rice with a single up the middle.
The Salukis cut the lead in half scoring a pair of runs off consecutive bases loaded walks allowed by
Mackenzie Hupke. Hupke issued four walks in the inning but got Elisabeth Huckleberry to line out to Ryan at short to end the threat.
Ryan added two more runs the next inning with her first home run of the season, scoring
Haylee Lehman, who was hit by a pitch with one out. Rice scored Drake's final run in the fifth inning on a fielder's choice by
Skylar Rigby.
SIU though made it a one-run game at 7-6 in the sixth with Jenny Jansen's two-out grand slam.
The Bulldogs nearly added to their total in the seventh inning after loading the bases after Rigby drew a walk. Lehman made solid contact and hit a hard shot at Jansen, who fielded it cleanly and fired to first for the final out.
The seventh inning started with Hupke getting a groundout back at her for the first out. But the Salukis answered with a double and single to put the winning runs on base. Richards came on in relief of Hupke after the single as the runner at first stole second and Richards allowed a walk to load the bases.
However, the freshman induced a grounder to Ryan, who fired home to Rigby, who made a nice stretch to record the second out. Richards then struck out Maddy Vermejan to tally her first career save. Hupke improved to 2-1 with the win. She allowed six runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and worked around five walks.
In the first game, Valtman put Drake up 1-0 in the second inning with her first home run of the season. The Bulldogs nearly added another run in the third after Johnson singled and stole second and third with two outs, but Ryan popped out to end the threat.
SIU took the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the third after stringing together three hits and two walks off
Nicole Timmons. Later, Elizabeth Warwick blasted a three-run home run with two outs in the fifth inning off Timmons pushing SIU's lead to 5-1.
Taylor pushed another run across for Drake making it a 5-2 game. However, the Salukis ended the game early with a five-run sixth inning.
Johnson swiped two bases in the first game for 72 in her great career. She is now second all-time in career steals wtih 72. Amy Pierce (2010-13) has 92 stolen bases.
Nicole Timmons (2-6) took the loss after allowing five earned runs on four hits with nine strikeouts and a season-high seven walks.
Drake and SIU close the series Sunday with an 11 a.m. game on ESPN+.
