Lambrecht, Cougars Shut Out Billikens
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Amanda Lambrecht tossed her fourth shutout of the season Wednesday as SIUE softball blanked Saint Louis 2-0 in a non-conference matchup at Cougar Field.
Lambrecht collected her 15th win of the season while SIUE improved to 19-23 overall. Saint Louis fell to 19-24.
"She (Lambrecht) threw well and had command," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery. "She limited her walks and certainly limited the hits they got. She dug in when she needed to and got the job done."
The Cougars picked up RBI hits from Rachel Coonrod and Taylor Tooley, scoring runs in the second and fourth innings off SLU starter Hannah Huebbe.
"We got the timely hitting when we needed it," said Montgomery.
Coonrod drove home Tooley in the second inning for the eventual winning run. Tooley drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a sacrifice by Brittany Toney. Coonrod's base hit to right field was just enough to drive home Tooley.
"She been a little up and down this year. She got some huge hits for us in timely situations," Montgomery said of Coonrod.
Tooley made it 2-0 in the fourth. With Alex McDavid aboard with a one-out walk, Tooley blasted a pitch to deep right-center field. McDavid rounded second as she knew no outfielders could reach Tooley's hit and did not stop until she slid into home without a throw to the plate.
Lambrecht gave up four hits in the game and struck out three. The Billikens' biggest threat came in the seventh with two runners on base. Lambrecht got Jessica Buschjost to ground out to end the game.
The Cougars and the Billikens play once more next Wednesday in St. Louis. Next up for SIUE is a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at Tennessee Tech. Both teams hold a .500 record in Ohio Valley Conference play as they battle for one of the top six spots which will earn them a chance at the OVC postseason tournament next month.
"We've had a lot of adversity this year," she said. "We've fighting the roller coaster effect and have been trying not to get down when things get tough."
