They were joined by six incoming freshmen, a redshirted freshman, a transfer from another Division I program, and the return of Haley Chambers-Book, the three-time All-OVC First Team member and 2015 OVC Pitcher of the Year who did not play in 2016.
Although the early season schedule is busy, the Cougars face only four teams that were in the 2016 NCAA tournament, including two that were ranked in the preseason Top 25.
[7] In Game 4 of the tournament, Haley Chambers-Book struck out 14 opposing batters, raising her career total to 748 and breaking the previous SIUE record of 737, set by Erika Taylor during 2008–11 [8] After picking up two wins and setting the SIUE career strikeout record, Haley Chambers-Book was named the season's first Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week.
[10] At the Baylor Tournament in Waco, Texas, the Cougars went 2–1 in the preliminary round-robin, defeating St. Francis (PA) and Massachusetts and falling to the 24th ranked hosts to earn the #2 seed.
[13] On Day 2 of the "Under Armour Showcase", The Cougars wore their hitting shoes, beating Fort Wayne 8–0 in six innings and St. Joseph's 11–2 in five.
[22] Following her no-hitter versus Tennessee State and her one-hitter against Kansas, Haley Chambers-Book earned her second OVC Pitcher of the Week award of the year.
[24] For the third season in a row, the Cougars traveled to Carbondale to face the Salukis in the home stadium of their elder sister school.
While Haley Chambers-Book struck out 11 in a four-hit shutout, the Cougars used three straight hits, a passed ball, and a two-base advance on a sacrifice fly to take a 3–0 lead in the third and added an insurance run in the seventh for the 4–0 victory.
[26] Her shutout wins over SIU and UTM gained Haley Chambers-Book consecutive OVC Pitcher of the Week awards---her third of the year.
[30] With three complete-game shutouts and a win in relief, Haley Chambers-Book got her third consecutive OVC Pitcher of the Week award---her fourth of 2017.
[31] The Cougars took a mid-week trip to Urbana for their first-ever meeting with the Illinois Fighting Illini, who carried the NCAA's #25 RPI (versus SIUE's #41) and were ranked #27 in both national Top 25 polls.
[34] For the first-ever meeting between two top 50 RPI teams from the OVC, the Cougars traveled to Alabama to face league-leading Jacksonville State.
A sixth-inning homer gave JSU a 2–1 lead that was preserved by a seventh-inning diving catch in center field and throw to first for a double play.
[36] The Saturday doubleheader versus the Austin Peay Governors was moved to Friday, but it was still delayed four hours in starting by thunderstorms.
In Game 2, Emily Ingles had a no-hitter into the seventh in her 10 strikeout one-hit 1–0 win, With the sweep, the Cougars moved back into second place in the OVC race.
[38] After pitching her tenth complete game shutout of the season and raising her record to 24–6, Haley Chambers-Book was named OVC Co-Pitcher of the Week---her fifth award of 2017.
[39] The Ohio Valley Conference Awards were announced at a banquet in Oxford, Alabama prior to the start of the league tournament.
The Gamecocks advanced to the finals, while SIUE must play the winner of the UT Martin–Eastern Kentucky game in the second semifinal for a chance at a rematch with JSU.
[43] In the second semifinal game, Haley Chambers-Book allowed no hits in her five inning start, with the only UT Martin base-runner caught stealing.
But JSU got through to Haley Chambers-Book, who had only allowed ten home runs all season, getting one in the second, a two-run shot in the third, and another solo longball in the seventh.
Then, following a triple, the SIUE star then threw an even more rare wild pitch, allowing JSU to take the lead in the eventual 5-4 win.
The Gamecockjs earned the OVC's automatic win to the NCAA Championship tournament, and the Cougars must wait to see if their RPI remains high enough for an at-large bid.
[45] Cougar seniors Haley Chambers-Book, Allison Smiley, and Sarah Lopesilvero were named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Tournament Team.