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April 9, 2008

By Kyle Herm
www.SIUSalukis.com

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Saluki softball team (23-15, 9-3 MVC) edged Evansville (18-13, 4-6 MVC) 2-0 Wednesday evening on the road to increase their season-long win streak to eight games. Freshman starter Danielle Glosson threw a complete-game three-hit shutout to pick up her fourth win of the year.

With the game scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, Southern Illinois sophomore left fielder Katie Wilson broke up the pitchers' duel with a sacrifice fly to right field to score sophomore Alicia Garza from third, for the go-ahead, and eventual game winning run.

Garza led-off the inning with a double to right field, and seniors Becky Wegmann and Lauren Haas both reached base in ensuing at-bats to set-up the game-winning sacrifice fly.

Senior outfielder Tiffanie Dismore, who had not played in a game since breaking her jaw against Northwestern on March 2, also made her return as a pinch-runner for Wegmann after she reached first on an infield single.

SIU held Evansville without a run in the bottom of the sixth, and got a little more breathing room in the next inning on a one-out, solo home run, crushed by junior outfielder Katie Schmidt to put the Salukis up, 2-0, heading into the bottom of the seventh.

The pair of runs were all Glosson needed to secure Southern Illinois' second road win of the season, as the Winston-Salem, N.C. native retired the Purple Aces in order to close out the game.

Glosson finished with five strikeouts, and extended the Salukis pitching staff's streak of not giving up a run to a remarkable 27 innings.

SIU's stretch of four-straight shutouts totaling 27 innings is the longest consecutive scoreless innings streak since SIU went 26-straight innings without giving up a run in 2005.

"It all starts with pitching and defense, and our pitchers are throwing with great presence right now," said head coach Kerri Blaylock "We knew it would take some time for the young pitchers to get things going, but they're really not throwing like freshman right now."

Evansville's Jacki Bradley took the loss to fall to 7-9, and first baseman Brittney Herald, who leads Valley in batting average, went 1-for-2 at the plate.

The Salukis will continue MVC play on the road this weekend with a three-game series at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa Saturday and Sunday, April 12-13. The series opens with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon, and concludes with a single-game on Sunday beginning at 12 p.m.