Southern Illinois Tops Belmont, Hands Maya Johnson Rare Loss in Key Conference Series
Depending on who one asks about the Missouri Valley's best pitcher, one of the answers would definitely be Belmont's Maya Johnson.
The left-hander has been named the MVC Pitcher of the Week five times this season and was also named the NFCA's National Pitcher of the Week.
However, the reigning Pitcher of the Week ran into the Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week over the weekend when Southern Illinois visited Nashville for a pivotal three-game series at E.S. Rose Park.
The rubber match on Sunday went the Salukis' way as they handed Johnson her second loss of the season. The rare loss came hours after Johnson shut out SIU Saturday evening, scattering two hits and striking out 13 in a complete-game effort.
SIU had a game plan heading into the series finale and executed beautifully.
"We made some really good adjustments, and people really paid attention and honed in," head coach Jen Sewell said. "Our goal was to take the strikeouts (had 13 last night) and cut them in half (had five today) and put those six or seven more balls in play and I think we did that. I could instantly tell one time through the lineup that we had it, and we were working the plan."
Hitting 101: Put it where they ain't @annacarder2022 knocks one into the gap to give SIU the first lead of the game!
— Saluki Softball (@SIU_Softball) March 29, 2025
T3: SIU 1, BEL 0 pic.twitter.com/yDyAfpepVR
Coming into the contest, Johnson had only allowed nine runs in 19 appearances. That changed in the third inning when Jackie Lis singled and came around to score on a double from Anna Carder. Emily Williams made it 2-0 with a run-scoring single.
Amanda Knutson gave the Salukis an insurance run in the seventh when she tripled right-center, scoring Addi Baker.
Need some insurance? Call @AmandaKnutson10
— Saluki Softball (@SIU_Softball) March 29, 2025
She puts the Salukis up by three in the final frame!
T7: SIU 3, BEL 0 pic.twitter.com/3hUplS2a15
In the circle, McKenzie Newcomb picked up the win, allowing two hits and two walks, with two strikeouts across 5.1 scoreless innings. Emma Gipson got the start and was effective over the first 1.2 innings. She didn't allow a hit or a run, walked one, and struck out one.
With the win, SIU moved into sole possession of first place in the conference and will return home to host Indiana State, with game one scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. CT on Friday at Charlotte West Stadium.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.