Southern Illinois drops series opener to Bradley, 6-1

Thursday, May 19

Carbondale, Ill.

6:30 PM

Southern Illinois University

30-21-1, 0

Bradley

25-19, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Bradley	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	15	0
Southern Illinois	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	0

05/19/2016 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Box Score

May 19, 2016

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CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois allowed six runs in the first two inning of play and could not rally in a 6-1 series opening loss to Bradley Thursday night at Itchy Jones Stadium. Southern (30-21-1, 11-8 MVC) had five hits in the loss.

"We just weren't able to put anything together tonight," said head coach Ken Henderson. "It is tough when you are down by six. We hit some balls hard and kept the ball out of the air, which is something we have been working on. It just wasn't our night."

The Braves (25-19, 9-9 MVC) took control of the game early, scoring six runs on 11 hits through the first two innings of play. SIU's lone run of the game came in the fourth inning behind a double from Logan Blackfan and an RBI single by Nick Hutchins. Blackfan's 21st double of the season ties him for fourth for most doubles in a single in season in SIU history.

The Saluki bullpen was strong on Thursday, throwing seven shutout innings, led by Connor McFadden and Mitch Townsend. McFadden allowed three hits in 4.2 innings of work with four strikeouts, while Townsend allowed one hit in 2.1 innings with three strikeouts.

"The bullpen did a phenomenal job tonight," said Henderson. "McFadden and Townsend did exactly what you ask your long relievers to do. Those guys were outstanding on the mound."

Southern will look to even the series on Friday, when Michael Baird takes the mound in search of his 10th win of the season. First pitch at Itchy Jones Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.