March 21, 2004

By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com

Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Katie Jordan went 2-for-3 with a home run to lead Southern Illinois (19-6, 3-0 MVC) to a 4-1 win over Northern Iowa (6-16, 0-3 MVC) on Sunday at West Stadium. The Saluki victory completes a sweep of the season-opening Missouri Valley Conference series with the Panthers and leaves SIU 10-0 at West Stadium.

"It's huge to get a sweep. You know you should win on your own field and we wanted to be 3-0 and not 2-1 after this series. Sometimes you just have to grind out some wins. I was happy with the win. I thought the last two runs we scored late and the relief pitching was key for us," said an excited Kerri Blaylock, SIU head coach.

Northern Iowa jumped out in front in the second inning off starter Amy Harre on a two-out walk, followed by an RBI double to take a 1-0 lead.

SIU came right back with a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Haley Viefhaus led off with a soft single to the pitcher and moved to second on a sacrifice by Jenny Doehring. Katie Louis walked and Adie Viefhaus followed with an RBI single to drive in her sister, Haley, tying the game at 1-1.

The Salukis took a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Samantha Carter led off with a walk, advanced on another sacrifice by Doehring, moved to third on a Jordan single and scored on a Haley Viefhaus ground out.

After allowing two walks in the top of the third inning, Harre, who was relieved early and received a no-decision for the second straight game, gave up a single and threw a wild pitch in the fourth inning before she was relieved by Ashley Hamby (3-1) with SIU leading 2-1. Harre struck out three, walked four and allowed three hits and a run in three innings of work.

"It's awesome that Ashley hasn't had that many innings, but we threw her out there and she came through like a champ. She did a really good job today to hold Northern Iowa scoreless," Blaylock added.

Leading 2-1 in the fifth inning, Jordan homered for the second straight day, giving SIU some breathing room. Doehring walked with two outs and Jordan ripped a shot right down the leftfield line, her team-high fifth of the year, to give the Salukis a 4-1 lead.

"We're getting people to swing the bats better. Katie (Jordan) is getting some huge hits and that's why we have her in the cleanup spot," stated Blaylock.

Northern Iowa's Julie Phillips (3-5) allowed four runs, five hits and four walks in six innings. She struck out one in the loss.

Jordan (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, run), Carter (1-for-2, run), Haley Viefhaus (1-for-3, RBI, run) and Adie Viefhaus (1-for-2, RBI) carried the SIU offense.

The Salukis will host Southeast Missouri State for a doubleheader at West Stadium on Tuesday, March 25 at 2 p.m.