Southern Illinois leads Wichita State by 5 shots in MVC golf tournament

Southern Illinois leads Wichita State by five shots after the first two rounds of the men’s MVC Championships golf tournament at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson.

The Shockers opened with a 288 and led SIU by one shot after the first round. WSU shot a second-round 299 to drop to a 27-over-par 587. SIU’s second-round 293 puts it a 582. The teams will play 18 holes in Tuesday’s final round.

SIU’s Peyton Wilhoit opened with a 68 and finished with a 141 to lead the field. WSU’s Grant Bennett is third with a 143.

WSU’s Conrad Walcher shot an opening-round 69 before slipping to 146 and a tie for seventh. Alec Heinen is tied for 10th with a 147.

Illinois State and Missouri State are tied for third at 589.

Shockers headed to Baton Rouge — WSU’s women’s golf team is seeded No. 17 in the 18-team NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, La.

WSU is playing in its third consecutive NCAA regional. Play at the University Club runs May 5-7.

Duke is the top seed in the regional. The top six teams and three invididuals advance to the NCAA Championships on May 20 in Eugene, Ore.

Williams honored by Valley — WSU senior Cacy Williams earned Missouri Valley Conference softball player of the week honors.

Williams, from Platte City, Mo., set WSU’s career home run record at 36 during a week in which she hit .643 with three homer and seven RBI. The Shockers went 5-0 last week to move into first place in the MVC.

WSU (28-18, 14-5 MVC) plays Missouri State (17-27, 6-12) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Wilkins Stadium.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Southern Illinois leads Wichita State by 5 shots in MVC golf tournament."