Baseball falls 3-1 on opening day

Friday, February 18

Ruston, La.

6:00 P.M.

Southern Illinois University

0-1

Louisiana Tech

1-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Illinois	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	1
Louisiana Tech	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	X	3	7	1

02/18/2011 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 18, 2011

By Jason Clay
SIUSalukis.com

Box Score | Photo Gallery

RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech pitcher Trevor Peterson gave up just one run in eight innings to hold off the Southern Illinois baseball team, as the Salukis fell 3-1 in their season opener Friday at J.C. Love Field.

Peterson (1-0) scattered five hits and Southern left eight runners on base to fall in its first game of the Louisiana Tech Classic. Five of SIU's eight runners left on base were stranded in scoring position and its only run on the night came off a Bulldog error.

Saluki junior Cameron Maldonado, making his first career start at SIU, pitched a strong five innings, but picked up the loss. He gave up only three hits and overcame four walks while allowing just two runs.

"The effort was tremendous and if we play with that kind of effort every night we are certainly going to win a lot of ball games," interim head coach Ken Henderson said. "We had the great effort, but we made too many mistakes. It's opening night, we'll learn from it and move forward."

The Salukis (0-1) had chances to score in the first, third, fifth and ninth, but stranded runners in scoring position. SIU had seven hits in all on the day.

The only fault on the mound Friday evening was the eight walks that Southern gave up.

"Cameron is usually a guy who pounds the zone, and I expect him to come out next Friday night and do that because that's what he does," Henderson said. "The great thing is he still left us with a 2-0 ball game and our bullpen did a great job."

Senior center field Chris Murphy and freshman right fielder Kollin Dowdy led SIU at the plate, as each went 2-for-4. Freshman Donny Duschinsky scored Southern's only run in the eighth on a Bulldog throwing error.

The Bulldogs (1-0) were led by second baseman Joey Ford, who was 2-for-3 at the plate and he drove in two of Louisiana Tech's three runs.

La Tech jumped on top in the bottom of the first inning off an RBI single up the middle from Ford. Ford drove in his second run of the game in the third inning on a sacrifice fly to center.

Meanwhile, the Salukis were able to get runners in scoring position in the first, third and fifth innings, but were unable to capitalize and thus trailed 2-0 after five.

Maldonado kept the Salukis in the game and retired nine-straight batters from the third through fifth innings before giving way to Andrew Bever out of the bullpen to start the sixth.

The Bulldogs looked to tack onto their lead in the sixth when they had two runners on. However, Bever struck out Will Alvis swinging to end the threat. Once again in the seventh La Tech had runners in scoring position. Sophomore reliever Austin Johnson came in to get two outs and keep it a two-run game.

A two-out throwing error on Bulldog catcher Clint Ewing allowed Duschinsky to score from third in the top of the eighth, pulling the Salukis within one run.

The one-run game didn't last, and an RBI single up the middle from Austin Hedges pushed Tech's lead back up to two entering the ninth.

Southern Illinois got a hits from Jordan Sivertsen and Brian Bajer in the ninth, but were unable to bring them home and thus fell 3-1 in the season opener.