Saluki offense powers past Jacksonville State, 13-3

Saturday, April 2

Carbondale, Ill.

2:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

16-10-1

Jacksonville St.

18-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Jacksonville State	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	12	2
Southern Illinois	0	3	0	0	1	3	6	0	X	13	16	1

04/02/2016 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Box Score

April 2, 2016

Box Score

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CARBONDALE, Ill. - Three Salukis hit their first career home runs and Southern Illinois scored a season-high 13 runs in a Saturday afternoon win against Jacksonville State. SIU (16-10-1) tied its season-best with 16 hits in the 13-3 win.

"Our guys stepped up and took some good swings today," head coach Ken Henderson said. "The offense just had a great overall day."

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second, the Saluki offense came to life in the bottom half, scoring three runs on five-straight hits. With a runner on first and one out, Jared Schmidt blasted a 2-1 pitch for his first career home run and a 2-1 Saluki lead. Singles from Will Farmer, Connor Kopach, and Jake Hand plated the final run of the inning for a 3-1 lead.

Just when it looked like the Gamecocks (18-8) would get themselves back into the game after cutting the SIU lead to 3-2 in the third, Drew Curtis moved the Saluki lead back to two runs with his first career home run in an SIU uniform in the fifth inning. Connor Kopach added to the Gamecocks' troubles in the sixth, sending a pitch over the left field wall for a three-run home run, the first of his career.

Southern all but put the game away in the seventh, scoring six runs for a 13-2 lead. Farmer and Hand had an RBI each, while Kopach and Logan Blackfan each plated two runs in the inning. JSU scored one run in the ninth, but Seth Hackett was able to induce a groundball for the final out of the game.

It was a complete team effort by the Salukis in the win over the Gamecocks. Eight different batters recorded a hit in the win. Kopach, Hand, and Braden Mosley had three hits each, while Kopach brought in a career-high five RBIs.

"We put some good swings together and as a coach, you want to see guys put the barrel on the ball," Henderson said. "We had good approaches all game long and we didn't try to do too much. It was just a great all-around day for us."

Chad Whitmer improved to 3-0 on the year, pitching six strong innings, allowing two runs on nine hits. The bullpen combination of Hackett and Jacob Williams pitched the final three innings in the win.

The series finale between Southern and the Gamecocks is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. from Itchy Jones Stadium. Michael Baird gets the start for the Salukis looking for his fifth win of the season.