EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The SIUE softball team won three of four games over the weekend as the Cougars continued their fall exhibition season.
On Saturday, SIUE earned a 1-0 win over Columbia College before cruising to an 18-0 victory over Jefferson College at Cougar Field.
The Cougars then traveled to Saint Louis on Sunday where they defeated William Woods College 7-0 but suffered a 4-2 defeat against SLU at the Billiken Sports Center.
“We’re starting to get smarter offensively from a strategic standpoint,” Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said. “We swung the bats well all weekend for the most part. Against SLU, you have to give their pitcher credit; she threw the ball very well.”
Against Columbia on Saturday, sophomore pitcher Haley Chambers picked up her second victory of the fall by striking out 12 batters. In her three starts during the fall season, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year has recorded 32 strikeouts in 19 innings of work.
Senior Erin Greenwalt and freshman Alexis Kohrs have also been impressive in the circle for SIUE. Greenwalt holds a 3-0 record and has posted 17 strikeouts while allowing just two hits. Kohrs has struck out 11 batters while only surrendering three hits and has recorded one save for the Cougars.
“We’re pitching well, but we’re still not pitching as well as we can,” Montgomery said. “Overall, we have a very strong staff, and I’m looking forward to seeing them this spring.”
At the plate, junior infielder Alex McDavid leads the team in hits (11), runs (7), and total bases (13). Freshman Allison Smiley has also impressed over her first six games as a Cougar, posting a team-leading seven RBI’s to go with a pair of triples and a .467 batting average.
Montgomery has been pleased with the team’s overall performance and is excited about the program’s depth heading into the 2014 season.
“We’re very deep this year, and we have a lot of spots that are being competed for,” Montgomery said. “We have six freshmen and one transfer who are going to push for playing time. It’s nice to have that depth.”
The Cougars will wrap up their fall schedule this weekend when the team travels to compete at SIU Carbondale Saturday. SIUE will face the Salukis at 2 p.m. before taking on Lake Land College at 4 p.m.
“I’d like to see us be sharp (on Saturday),” Montgomery added. “Lake Land is a very good program who won 50 games last year, and Carbondale is always a good program. We’ll have to play well if we expect to win.”
Courtesy of SIUE Sports Information
