The Southern Illinois University (SIU) Salukis women’s softball team will finish its four-week non-conference road trip at the Lipscomb Purple and Gold Challenge in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament runs from Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1 at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium.
SIU is scheduled to play Western Carolina twice and Purdue twice before facing host Lipscomb on Sunday. The only televised game for SIU will be Sunday’s matchup against Lipscomb, available on ESPN+.
The Salukis currently hold an 8-7 record after their first 15 games of the season. At the recent UAB Green and Gold Classic, SIU went 1-4, defeating Mercer in their opening game but losing the next four contests. In Birmingham, they faced two Southeastern Conference opponents. Against Ole Miss, freshman pitcher Hailey Lucas kept the Rebels scoreless through eight innings before giving up a walk-off home run in the ninth. SIU then lost to No. 1 Tennessee.
Sydney Potter leads SIU with two home runs and five RBIs during the tournament. Maleah Blomenkamp had a .333 batting average with six hits and four runs scored. Erin Lee posted a .438 on-base percentage and drew five walks.
Hailey Lucas has been effective as a freshman pitcher, recording a 2.00 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP over 14 innings last week. Emily Delgado contributed with a 3.50 ERA and led the team with 12 strikeouts in three appearances.
In head-to-head matchups, SIU has previously played Western Carolina once, winning that meeting in 2007. Against Purdue, SIU holds a 5-5 all-time record and won both games against them last year in Carbondale at the Coach B Classic. The Salukis have played Lipscomb once before, losing that contest in 2015.
Junior catcher Sydney Potter is tied for third nationally with ten home runs this season and ranks ninth in RBI with 24. She homered in each of SIU’s first six games of the season—one short of tying the NCAA record for consecutive games with a home run.
Hailey Lucas was recognized by NFCA for her pitching performances across Division I softball after allowing just one earned run over eight innings against Ole Miss.
Emily Williams leads SIU hitters with a .391 average this season and is tied for most hits on the team with eighteen. Williams was named MVC Newcomer of the Year in 2025.
Outfielders Charleston Pursley and Maleah Blomenkamp have started every game so far this season; both are batting above .300.
Within conference standings, SIU’s .533 winning percentage places them fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). Belmont leads with an .615 winning percentage. The Salukis’ sixteen team home runs are second-most in MVC play behind UNI’s eighteen homers.
Potter leads the conference in both home runs and RBI while being tied for sixth-most hits alongside Williams. Erin Lee’s eleven walks rank fifth among league players.
Lucas ranks third among MVC pitchers in ERA at 1.81 and second in WHIP at 0.85.
In national rankings, Southern Illinois appeared twentieth in Softball America’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll this season; fellow MVC member Belmont ranked third.
The Southern Illinois University Salukis Women’s Softball team participates in NCAA Division I competitions as part of the Missouri Valley Conference (official website). The team plays its home games at Charlotte West Stadium based in Carbondale, Illinois (official website).
Fans can follow updates about SIU softball via Twitter (@SIU_Softball), Facebook (Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball), Instagram (@SIU_Softball), or by downloading the “Salukis” Mobile App from major app stores.
