Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University's softball team is preparing for the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament. The team, holding a 31-19 record with a 21-5 conference tally, will compete in Des Moines, Iowa. The tournament starts on May 8, and SIU is aiming for their third consecutive MVC Championship.

SIU's regular season concluded with a series against Evansville. In the opening game, they secured an 11-0 victory, led by Sage Grann and Emma Austin. On Saturday, Evansville evened the series with a 2-0 win. However, Southern clinched the series with an 11-1 victory on Sunday.

Emma Austin was recognized as MVC Player of the Week following her performance against Evansville, where she achieved a .583 batting average and broke SIU's career stolen base record. Emily Williams was named MVC Newcomer of the Week after hitting her 16th home run of the season.

The MVC announced its end-of-season awards, honoring several Salukis players. Six members made it to the First Team All-Conference: Jackie Lis, Anna Carder, Emma Austin, McKenzie Newcomb, Emily Williams, and Mikaela Coburn. Addi Baker was placed on the Second Team All-Conference.

Anna Carder received Defensive Player of the Year honors while Emily Williams was named Newcomer of the Year. The coaching staff led by Jen Sewell earned MVC Coaching Staff of the Year for a second consecutive year.

SIU's first tournament game is against Drake on May 8 at Buel Field in Des Moines. If successful, they will advance to play in Friday’s semi-finals.

For updates on SIU softball news and results during the tournament, fans can follow their social media platforms or download their mobile app.