Southern Illinois University
Missouri St.
Baseball Stuns Top-Seeded SMS, Advances to MVC Championship Game
05/23/2003 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
May 23, 2003
Wichita, Kan. - Southern Illinois (30-23) advanced to its first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title game since 1990 after posting a stunning 9-4 win over top-seeded Southwest Missouri State (35-22) earlier today at Eck Stadium. The Salukis will face the winner of Wichita State and SMS for the tournament crown on Saturday at 2 p.m.
SIU enters tomorrow's championship contest at an undefeated 3-0 in the tourney and seeks its sixth MVC Tournament title. The last time the Dawgs clinched a league postseason championship crown was also in 1990. SIU appears to be in the driver's seat heading into tomorrow's contest, as it must now lose two games in order to be eliminated.
The Salukis wasted no time in going to work on SMS starter Jeff Gray. Gray, who beat the Salukis 8-3 in Carbondale on April 19, was touched for five runs and six hits in just 1.1 innings.
Nathan Emrick hit a one-out double to left center in the top of the first and scored on a single by Sal Frisella. Frisella, who moved to third on a fly ball out by Toby Barnett, scored shortly after on a home run by Greg Andrews. Andrews' bomb, which marked both his eighth of the season and SIU's fifth of the tournament, pushed the Salukis' lead to 3-0.
A RBI-single by P.J. Finigan and a two-out error by Bears' right fielder Greg Mathis extended SIU's lead to 5-0 in the top of the second.
The Dawgs would add a couple more runs in the top of the fifth when Andrews doubled home Barnett and Finigan stole home on the front end of a double steal.
Ahead 7-0, SMS threatened in the bottom of the sixth. SIU starter Josh Joiner, who held the Bears scoreless for the game's first five innings, found himself in a one-out, bases loaded jam. After giving up a walk to pinch-hitter Justin DePriest, which put Bears on every base, Tony Piazza smashed a grand slam that bounced off the scoreboard in left field. The round-tripper narrowed the Salukis' lead to 7-4.
Following Piazza's long ball, freshman left-hander Tyler Norrick relieved Joiner and retired 10 of SMS's next 11 batters, including eight straight, to pick up his third save of the season. Norrick struck out five batters in a remarkable 3.2 innings of work.
While Norrick was cruising on the mound, SIU scored one more run in both the seventh and ninth innings to ice the 9-4 win. Nathan Boldt had both RBI-singles in those frames.
Joiner, who also shined on the hill, moved to 6-3 on the season. In 5.1 innings, he struck out two batters, while allowing nine hits and four runs. He also held the Bears scoreless through the game's first five innings.
Offensively, Boldt went 3-for-5 with two RBI to lead the Dawgs. Finigan (2), Emrick (2), Andrews (2) and Tyler Schooley (2) also had multiple-hits. Additionally, SIU recorded 13 hits, marking the fourth straight game it has posted 10 or more hits. In fact, the Salukis have registered 39 hits alone in the MVC Tournament so far.
