EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – For those who remained after a 3-hour, 6-minute rain delay Sunday to see the SIUE softball team defeat Tennessee State 8-2 at Cougar Field, the Cougars thank you.
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"We appreciate everybody who stuck around," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery. "That was a long day."
Rain was plentiful and caused what was scheduled as a doubleheader to become just a single game. The event started 41 minutes late due to the weather, and watching the weather radar became a spectator sport.
"It's a tough day pitching in the rain no matter who you are," said Montgomery.
SIUE, 35-10 overall and 16-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, grabbed the early lead in the game with two runs in the first inning. Haley Chambers scored on a wild pitch by Tennessee State starter Taylor Green. Alex McDavid added an RBI on an infield out, scoring Rebecca Gray from third.
The Cougars tallied four runs in the bottom of the third. Chambers started the inning with a single up the middle. Gray bunted for a single. Both Gray and Chambers moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by Allison Smiley and scored on a double by McDavid.
After Rachel Keller walked and Whitney Lanphier was hit by a pitch, McDavid scored on another wild pitch. Brittany Toney added an RBI single that drove home Keller.
With Tess Eby at the plate and a 3-1 count, the umpires called for a delay as rain continued to fall.
Chambers, who started for the Cougars, had allowed just one hit through three innings and now has 17 straight innings without giving up a run as a starter. After the delay, both SIUE and Tennessee State switched pitchers.
"Any time you have that long rain delay, it's not smart to keep your starting pitcher in there and have her warm up again," said Montgomery.
The Cougars and the Tigers, 9-31 overall and 2-17 in the OVC, played another 64 minutes and each scored two runs. SIUE picked up its two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single by Smiley.
Baylee Douglass was awarded the win after coming into the game to start the top of the fourth. She is now 14-5.
"We're happy to get out of here with a win," said Montgomery.
SIUE next plays a nonconference Wednesday when it travels to Kansas for a 1 p.m. game against the Jayhawks.
The Cougars have a two-game lead on Jacksonville State in the OVC regular season race and one game in the loss column. SIUE has six conference games left on the schedule with a three-game series next weekend against UT Martin at home and a three-game series (May 2-3) at Eastern Illinois. The No. 1 seed for the OVC Tournament will be the host and is determined by conference winning percentage.
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