 Purple Aces sophomore threw a career-high 9 1/3 masterful innings in the circle, but a late hit saw Southern Illinois edge the University of Evansville softball team, 1-0, on Tuesday at Charlotte West Stadium.
Florey struck out seven Saluki (26-21, 13-7 MVC) batters in the effort, which was her longest start at UE (20-27, 11-10 MVC). She gave up just six hits in the game. Brianna Jones threw ten innings of shutout ball, giving up seven hits while striking out 11.
“That was a great game featuring two of the best pitchers in the league just battling,†Aces head coach Mat Mundell said. “Both defenses made some great plays. I thought we did a great job of getting girls on base but were not able to execute and get them in.â€
Evansville’s offense was held to one hit in the first three innings and just three through the first six frames. That changed in the seventh when Hayli Scott hit a leadoff single and Michal Luckett followed that up with another single to put two on with no outs. Susan Norris bunted them to second and third with one out, but SIU was able to escape with no damage being done.
Southern Illinois was held to just three hits through seven innings, but in the 10th, they were finally able to get on the board. With one out, Sydney Jones singled. Katelyn Massa came to the plate and delivered the game-winning double to finish off the game.
UE wraps up its home schedule this weekend with a 3-game set against conference-leading Illinois State. Action begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. Fans are also reminded of the Purple Aces Club Ballpark Cookout, which features free food for fans in their Aces gear at 1:30 p.m. in between the baseball and soccer stadiums.
