UE to complete regular season this weekend
Another pitcher’s duel between the University of Evansville and Southern Illinois saw the Salukis take a 3-2 win in 9 innings over the Purple Aces softball team on Wednesday evening at Cooper Stadium.
Morgan Florey threw all nine innings for the Aces (22-24, 10-13 MVC) and was matched in the circle by SIU’s (31-17, 14-9 MVC) Brianna Jones. Chandra Parr had two of the Aces’ six hits on the day while also scoring a run and knocking one in. Leading SIU was Eyrika Brandenburg, who went 3-5 with a hit and RBI of her own.
Through her first three innings of work, Morgan Florey was stellar as the lone baserunner reached on a passed ball following a strikeout. After notching a hit in the first frame, the second hit of the day for UE came in the bottom of the third as Michal Luckett belted a one-out double to right-center. Next up was Chandra Parr, who hit it back up the middle to bring Luckett home and give UE a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later, Florey helped her own cause, bringing Parr home on a single of her own. Southern Illinois came alive in the top half of the fourth, notching their first hit of the game. The second hit of the inning was a big one as Shaye Harre belted a 2-run home run to right to tie the game up at 2-2.
The game would remain that way as the game headed into extra innings. The final out of the 7th inning saw Susan Norris come close to walking it off, but was caught at the warning track.
Southern Illinois was able to load the bases up with no outs in the top of the 8th, but Morgan Florey buckled down. She struck out two batters before forcing a fly out to finish off the top half of the frame. The Salukis were able to score their third run in the ninth as Eyrika Brandenburg laced a single to right to score the game-winning run.
A trip to Chicago will mark the end of the regular season for the Purple Aces as they will face Loyola in a 3-game set on Saturday and Sunday.
