The Southern Illinois University Salukis Women’s Softball team completed a series sweep against Bradley with a 7-5 victory at Charlotte West Stadium on March 14, marking head coach Jen Sewell’s 150th career win.
This achievement highlights the team’s strong performance in NCAA Division I competitions, where they maintain membership in the Missouri Valley Conference according to the official website. The Salukis, based in Carbondale, Illinois, scored seven runs on nine hits and committed two errors during Saturday’s game. Bradley finished with five runs on eight hits and one error.
Junior Emily Delgado earned her fifth win of the season while freshman Brooklynn Danielson recorded her second save as a Saluki. Offensively, junior Emily Williams led the team by going three-for-three with a home run and three runs batted in. “A bit of an ugly win but Valley sweeps are Valley sweeps,” Sewell said. “What I respect about our club is they understand that wins are wins, but we have some things to get better at. It’s a testament to our standards here. Proud of our offense and we threw some good pitches this weekend. If we can continue to learn while winning, we will be a team to be reckoned with.” Williams’ performance included four home runs and ten RBI over the three-game series.
Sewell also praised Williams’ efforts: “Emily Williams had another big day,” Sewell said. “She worked all week long and it showed up in her offense.” Other notable contributions came from sophomore Hayden Kurtz, who hit her first home run at Charlotte West Stadium, and redshirt sophomore Maleah Blomenkamp, who reached base in all three plate appearances.
The game saw Bradley take an early lead before SIU responded with key hits from Williams and Kurtz. Senior Erin Lee contributed six runs over the weekend for SIU. After extending their lead through additional scoring opportunities and defensive plays—including Sydney Potter catching a runner stealing—the Salukis held off a late rally by Bradley before Danielson closed out the game.
Looking ahead, SIU will begin its first conference road trip next weekend against Illinois State with games scheduled for March 20 and March 21 in Normal, Illinois. “We are going to challenge our team this week in practice as we head for a road series with Illinois State,” Sewell said. “We are good, but can we be really good?”
The Southern Illinois University Salukis Women’s Softball program competes at Charlotte West Stadium in Carbondale as part of NCAA Division I collegiate athletics according to the official website.
