EDWARDSVILLE – The fall exhibition season came to an end Saturday as SIUE softball swept Lake Land College 9-1 in five innings and 4-0.
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SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery reflected on her fall schedule in which the Cougars went undefeated.
"Our kids are young but are talented and hungry to do well," said Montgomery. "I was pretty happy with our pitching throughout the fall, but we have a lot of work still to be ready in the spring. I'm pretty happy with where we are."
In game one, Emily Ingles yielded just two hits and one unearned run along with eight strikeouts. The Cougar sophomore finished the fall season without allowing an earned run in 17 innings of play.
Zoe Schafer, who entered the weekend with six straight games with a home run, picked up the first two RBIs for the Cougars with a single in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the third. Reagan Curtis ripped two doubles for the Cougars and added an RBI in the third inning. Tess Eby also hit her second home run of the fall, a solo blast to center field in the fifth inning.
In the nightcap, Corrina Riva tossed six innings of shutout softball, and Abby Marlow came out of the bullpen for a perfect seventh inning.
"Abby has been working hard in the fall, and I wanted to give her a little opportunity," said Montgomery. "She still has some work to do, but she is completely different than our other pitchers on the staff. And they were swinging at balls out of the strike zone, which is what we need her to do."
Curtis provided the big hit for the Cougars in game two, a three-run home run in the first inning.
Montgomery said the Cougars leave the fall behind knowing it has team depth.
"We have a lot of players who can play several positons," said Montgomery. "And we don't even have (injured junior outfielder Alyssa) Heren in the lineup yet."
