Salukis swept in doubleheader to Colonels

Saturday, February 21

Atlanta, Ga.

11:00 AM

Southern Illinois University

1-4

Eastern Kentucky

1-3

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

02/21/2015 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Feb. 21, 2015

By Rico Cruz
SIUSalukis.com

EMERSON, Ga. - Southern Illinois dropped a pair of close contests to Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at LakePoint Sport Complex. The Salukis (1-5) lost the first game 5-4, and the second game, 4-3, to the Colonels (2-3).

"We did a lot of good things today," head coach Ken Henderson said. "We let the first game slip away from us because of some execution errors. While it was a frustrating day, our effort was good and we pitched well outside of a few innings."

Game one saw the Salukis give up a lead late in the game and were unable to recover from it. Holding a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning, SIU was one out away from getting out of the inning, but a two-run home run from EKU's Mandy Alvarez gave the home team the lead. The Colonels would add one more run on an SIU error.

Southern was not able to get a runner on base in the ninth, as EKU closed out the first game with a win.

Just like Friday's game, EKU got on the board early. TJ Alas hit a two-run home run off of Kyle Pruemer for an early 2-0 lead. Pruemer, however would settle down after the inning and hold EKU scoreless for the rest of the time he was on the mound. He finished the game after pitching 6.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits.

SIU answered right back the next inning, scoring three runs to take the lead. After three straight walks, a wild pitch allowed Jake Hand to score the first Saluki run. Then, Braden Mosley picked up a pair of RBIs with a single, giving the Salukis a 3-2 advantage.

The Salukis would pick up one run in the eighth, after a bases-loaded walk allowed Hand to score his second run of the game, pushing the lead to 4-2 before EKU rallied in the bottom-half of the inning.

Game two also saw SIU fall behind early, after giving up three runs in the first two innings. Austin McPheron got the start in the second game for SIU, but had trouble early. McPheron gave up three runs on five hits in his two innings of work.

EKU scored two runs early in the first inning and tacked on another in the second for an early 3-0 lead.

The Salukis answered back with a run of their own in the third inning. After a leadoff double from Michael Klein, Greg Lambert singled to advance Klein to third. Klein would score the first Saluki run on a wild pitch, making it a 3-1 game after three innings.

Bryce Sablotny and Anthony Shimkus each made their second appearances of the season. The pair gave the Salukis six strong innings in relief. The two pitchers combined to allow five hits and only one run, with both pitchers recording four strikeouts. The four strikeouts was a new career high for Shimkus, while four tied a career high for Sablotny.

"They did a great job," Henderson said. "We got down early and those guys came in and did what you need your bullpen to do. They gave us a chance today."

Trailing 4-1 in the sixth inning, Hand singled up the middle before Hunter Anderson found the perfect pitch and sent it out of the park for his first collegiate home run. The home run made it a 4-3 game.

Down one in the top of the ninth, SIU had an opportunity to tie the game. Anderson hit a single to start the inning and was lifted for pinch-runner Connor Kopach. Dyllin Mucha reached first base on a fielder's choice, but Kopach was thrown out at second for the first out. Taylor Martin flied out to left field for the second out. Chase Slone earned a walk and gave SIU runners on first and second. A wild pitch from EKU would bring the game-tying run only 90 feet away. The SIU rally would come up short after Klein was thrown out at a close play at first base.

Southern will look to even the series on Sunday, when the two team play a fourth and final game. The tentative game-time is set for 11 a.m. CT.