Kyle MeansDaily Egyptian
It was no surprise to SIU softball when the slight rain that came on the last day of the Southern Classic led to the cancellation of the championship game between SIU and Iowa.
The 24th-ranked Hawkeyes declined to play in the Sunday afternoon game telling SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock that they'd rather head home than stay too late in Carbondale. The championship, which was originally scheduled for 4 p.m., was delayed because of rain, which also slowed the start of the third place game between the University of Illinois-Chicago and Northern Illinois. Both teams had already lost to SIU (10-1) this weekend, as did Iowa.
SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock said Iowa's 2-1 loss Saturday to the Salukis had nothing to do with their early departure.
"They probably wanted revenge, I don't think they were scared," Blaylock said.
Blaylock said she could empathize with Iowa's decision, as it was similar to one she had to make a couple of weeks ago at the Mississippi State Invitational when storms cancelled a whole day of competition.
"When people travel a long way in weather conditions, you have to respect a coach's decisions," Blaylock said. "Kind of like when we decided to come home from Mississippi."
The cancelled game also takes nothing away from SIU, which earned the Southern Classic championship because of its 3-0 record on the weekend. The Salukis' pitching carried them this weekend with three performances where no more than two runs were given up in each game. The Salukis won by scores of 5-2 against UIC and NIU but had as much as they could handle against Iowa.
Saluki junior pitcher Ashley Hamby was impressive, giving up only one run on three hits against the Hawkeyes, as SIU won by a score of 2-1. Hamby's record is a team-best 5-0.
"I told her to pitch with a chip on your shoulder, have something to prove, show them what you got and she did," Blaylock said.
The Hawkeyes struck first with a sacrifice fly in the first inning but senior third baseman Katie Louis would drive in two runs to put SIU ahead. Louis hit her third home run of the season in the second inning. In the fourth inning Louis' RBI double turned out to be the game-winning hit.
"Katie Louis was on fire this weekend, she really picked us up," Blaylock said.
