Eberle's homer sinks Baseball in 4-1 loss

Saturday, March 12

Jacksonville, Ala.

1:00 P.M.

Southern Illinois University

4-9

Jacksonville St.

10-3

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

03/12/2011 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Box Score

March 12, 2011

By Jason Clay
SIUSalukis.com

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Sam Eberle's sixth inning, three-run homer proved to be the difference in Saturday's low scoring affair, as Jacksonville State defeated the Southern Illinois baseball team 4-1 at Rudy Abbott Field.

The Gamecocks (10-3) secure the series victory over the Salukis (4-9) and Jacksonville State has now won seven-straight games. SIU looks to salvage one game from the series when the two teams meet at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Sophomore Cody Forsythe pitched well for Southern, but made the one mistake to Eberle that changed the game. Southern's offense offered no help and the Salukis managed just one run for the second-straight game and fourth time in 13 games this year.

Forsythe falls to 2-2 on the year. Both of his losses came when he received no run support. His first defeat was at No. 7 South Carolina, when his complete game effort was lost by SIU putting up zero runs.

The left-hander went 6.1 innings Saturday and gave up the four runs off of eight hits. He had three strikeouts and didn't walk anybody.

Jacksonville State reliever Hunter Rivers picked up the win (2-0), as he threw 3.2 hitless innings and struck out six of the 11 batters he faced.

SIU finished with six hits to the Gamecocks eight. The Salukis are now 1-7 on the year when being out-hit.

Designated hitter Jordan Sivertsen had two of Southern's six hits in the game, including his fifth double on the year.

The Dawgs had base runners on in each of the first four innings, but managed only one run. That came on a wild pitch in the first inning when SIU had the bags full with two outs.

Jacksonville State got a run in the third on a two-out RBI double from Coty Blanchard down the left-field line.

Sivertsen started the sixth for SIU with a double to the wall in left field. Nick Johnson advanced Sivertsen to third with a long fly out to right field, but Rivers came in and retired the next two batters to keep the game tied at 1-1.

That all changed in the bottom half of the inning, as Eberle hit his three-run homer to left field.

Southern went hitless in the final three innings and six of the last nine outs were Saluki strikeouts.