SIU TAKES OUT ROUGH GAME ON OTAHKIANS

Sometimes the price you pay is the consequence of someone else's action.

Southeast Missouri State University women's softball team may have fallen prey to such a situation as it met a Southern Illinois University squad coming off an embarrassing loss to lowly Southwest Missouri State.

The result was an 11-0 thrashing by SIU at the Southeast Softball Complex on Monday afternoon.

"I think we caught the wrath of an SIU team coming off a tough conference loss on Saturday," said Otahkian coach Lana Richmond. "They were clicking on all three cylinders (hitting, pitching, defense)."

The game, halted after five innings by the mercy-run rule, saw the Lady Salukis get an overpowering pitching performance from their ace, Erin Stremsterfer (21-4), and a season high 11 hits -- including three home runs.

Tied for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference at 12-4, the Lady Salukis (29-12) competed like a team with something to prove on the heels of a 2-0 loss to SMS.

"We played a really bad game on Saturday," said SIU coach Kerri Blaylock, an ex-assistant at Southeast, "and I think they decided today they were going to come back and do something."

The Lady Salukis, facing Southeast's Jenny Doehring (11-8), went to the long ball early as Julie Meier slammed a two-run shot to left field in the first inning.

After going up 3-0 with a single tally in the third, SIU's Netty Hallahan hammered a three-run homer in the fourth to put the Lady Salukis up 6-0.

A five-run fifth-inning, capped by a three-run blast from Haley Viefhaus closed out the Lady Saluki scoring.

Southeast (16-17, 10-3) suffered its third straight shutout. The Otahkians managed only two hits off Stremsterfer, one each from Emily Kisaka and Renee Enos. Enos' two-out triple in the bottom of the fourth inning was Southeast's only serious threat.

Stremsterfer struck out seven and walked none.

The Otahkians host St. Louis University on Wednesday, but their main focus is on a huge weekend series with Ohio Valley Conference leader Eastern Kentucky. Southeast trails EKU by one game in the standings.

"We've got our sights set on this weekend, because our conference is what it's all about now," said Richmond.