TUESDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 1, Pitt 0
@Florida Gulf Coast 3,
SIUE 0
SIUE 1, PITT 0; FLORIDA GULF COAST 3, SIUE 0
FT. MYERS, Fla. - SIUE softball earned a split Tuesday to close out its Florida trip. The Cougars defeated Pittsburgh 1-0 and fell to Florida Gulf Coast 3-0.
SIUE, 16-5, now begins the Ohio Valley Conference season Saturday with a doubleheader at Cougar Field. The Cougars take on Murray State starting at 1 p.m. It is part of a three-game series with the Racers with the final game set for Sunday.
The Cougars finished their southern swing in Florida with a 6-1 record this past week.
On Tuesday, Haley Chambers, the reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week, tossed her fourth shutout of the season with a three-hitter against Pittsburgh. She improved to 10-2 overall to become the first 10-game winner in the OVC this season.
Chambers struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. It was the sixth time this season she has recorded double-digit strikeouts.
The Cougars were in a pitcher's duel with the Panthers, 19-4.
Pittsburgh's Savannah King, 11-2, had allowed only two hits going into the sixth inning when she hit back-to-back SIUE batters Alex McDavid and Amy Hunt. Whitney Lanphier then rocketed a single through the right side, allowing McDavid to score the game's only run.
In Tuesday's nightcap, Florida Gulf Coast's Chandle Middlebrook hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning that proved to be the difference.
Baylee Douglass went the distance for the Cougars. She struck out nine and gave up just five hits.
The Cougars matched Florida Gulf Coast, 15-13, with five hits with two from Jordan LaFave and one each from Rachel Keller, Brittany Toney, and Lanphier.