Forsythe wins sixth-straight, Baseball takes series opener

Friday, May 13

Carbondale, Ill.

3:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

19-29, 9-7

Illinois State

29-16, 8-8

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

05/13/2011 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Box Score

May 13, 2011

By Jason Clay
SIUSalukis.com

Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki ace Cody Forsythe won his sixth-straight game as he led the Southern Illinois baseball team to a 4-2 series-opening victory over Illinois State Friday at Abe Martin Field.

Forsythe, starting on a Friday for the first time in his career, guided the Salukis (19-29, 9-7 Missouri Valley Conference) to their first series-opening victory since April 8. He improves to 8-3 overall and 6-0 in Valley play, becoming the first Saluki pitcher since 2005 to win six league games.

"I felt good and I think everything was working pretty well," Forsythe said. "I was commanding my fastball pretty well and I had a good change-up and curveball going. It's a really good way to start a series and it gives us some momentum heading into tomorrow."

SIU led 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth when an hour and 22-minute delay due to lightening stalled the game. Forsythe was pulled after the layoff, but the Saluki bullpen held his lead to secure the victory. Saluki freshman reliever Tyler Dray recorded his seventh save of the season.

"We played a very good game I thought," a pleased interim head coach Ken Henderson said. "We got excellent pitching - Cody was outstanding. It was disappointing to get the delay and not be able to send him back out because he was awfully good. We executed on offense and I thought we were very, very good on defense."

Forsythe threw all six innings before the weather delayed the game. He gave up just three hits to the Redbirds (29-16, 8-8) and had three strikeouts with no walks. The left-hander threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 20 batters he faced and had a three-ball count against just one batter.

Illinois State pitcher Corey Maines (8-3) drew the loss, as he gave up three runs (two earned) off of four hits in 5.1 innings.

SIU out-hit ISU, 7-6, in the three-hour, 28-minute game. Junior catcher Dustin Huff was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one driven in.

Saluki left-fielder Jordan Sivertsen was 2-for-4 and belted his team-leading ninth home run of the season, a solo shot in the second that gave SIU a 1-0 lead. It was Southern's first hit off of Maines and Sivertsen's first home run in 14 games.

Huff then gave SIU its second run in the fifth with his RBI double to the gap in right-center. It was Huff's fourth double in his last seven games.

Still in the fifth and after a Redbird infield error, Huff scored on a sacrifice fly from Jake Welch to give Forsythe a 3-0 lead.

After the lightening delay in the bottom of the sixth, Forsythe was replaced on the hill by Todd Eaton. Eaton threw a scoreless seventh.

Austin Montgomery added a two-out RBI single in the seventh, but Illinois State cut SIU's lead down to 4-2 in the eighth.

The Redbirds drew two walks to start the eighth off of Saluki reliever Brad Drust. After a balk moved the two over to second and third, a sacrifice fly plated one run and then the second scored on a wild pitch.

Dray allowed two singles in the ninth, but didn't let Illinois State score a run and he preserved the win with his fourth save in MVC play.