Junior center fielder Merri Anne Patterson connects on her second home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field, March 5 at Charlotte West Stadium. Patterson and the Salukis beat Eastern Illinois 8-6 in their home opener.
SIU's offense was potent all day, but split its doubleheader with the Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion Shockers, still improving its conference tournament prospects in the process.
"We played very well," coach Kerri Blaylock said. "They won the MVC conference championship and had only lost five coming in and we had a chance to take two from them today, so that felt pretty good.