CARBONDALE, Ill. – Coming off a day-one victory over Big Ten Indiana, Western Illinois fell to Ball State and No. 20 Southern Illinois-Carbondale in the second day of the Kay Brechtelsbauer Southern Classic.

In game one, Erin Schlotfeldt hit her first collegiate home run with Amy Douglas on base, but it wasn't enough to hold the Cardinals (4-9), who took a 9-5 victory over the Westerwinds (3-4).

"The game was like a see saw game where they pushed ahead and we fought back," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "Offensively we hit well and our defense was great, but we just couldn't finish it."

The game went back and forth with five-straight innings of scoring. In the bottom of the first with two outs, Ball State was the first on the board when senior Taylor Yancey hit a two-run homer to take a 2-0 lead. Western Illinois came out in the second and put one on the board off of a Lindsey Hession single, the only hit for Western in the inning, that allowed Samantha Valentine to score.

Pitcher Courtney Jacobson came in as relief for freshman pitcher Lori Pankratz, after Ball State's Yancey fired back in the bottom of the second with another two-run homer. In the top of the third the Westerwinds went on a two-out rally scoring two runs on three hits. Nicole Green and Schlotfeldt both singled up the left field line and Valentine doubled to left center taking the score to 5-3.

In the bottom of the fourth, with no one on base and two outs, Ball State's Allie Pennock singled, a pair of walks and an Abby Gross double brought in three runs. The Westerwinds tried to close the gap in the fifth when Schlotfeldt homered out to left field scoring Douglas, but it wasn't enough to catch the Cardinals.

Pankratz recorded her first loss of the season, giving up one hit and five walks in one and two-thirds innings of work, while Ball State's Elizabeth Milian recorded the win, which brought her record to 2-2. Schlotfeldt went 2-for-3, scoring two and Valentine went 1-for-2 scoring one.

No. 20 Southern Illinois' Valley Pitcher of the Week Ashley Hamby threw her first no-hitter of her career against Western Illinois in the second game of the day to take a 10-0 victory over the Westerwinds. The Salukis (14-3) totaled 16 hits in the game, while committing no errors to keep Western scoreless.

Senior Christine Drankiewicz struck out the first batter, Valentine picked up the second out with a ground ball right to her at first, and Alicia Garza started the hitting for Southern with a triple to left field. Amanda Clifton followed with a single to bring in Garza, who scored the first run of the game.

The Salukis scored three more in the second on four hits, which included a two-run homer by Katie Schmidt, when sophomore pitcher Kamren Ferguson came in to relieve Drankiewicz. Ferguson allowed nine hits and four walks in the next three and two-thirds innings, with the Salukis taking two runs in the third on three hits and one error, and four more in the sixth on four hits to finish the six-inning game.

Drankiewicz (0-1) recorded her first loss of the season, while Southern's Hamby (8-1) took her eighth win with nine strikeouts and only one walk in 18 at bats.

"Overall this tournament was a great opportunity for us," said Van Vlymen. "Although it was cold, it was our first chance to play outside and with tough competition. We learned a lot as a team and we are looking to take that knowledge with us as we head into our next tournament over spring break."

Western Illinois will resume competition, Mar. 9-11, at the Wichita State Tournament.