Southern Illinois University
9-8
Toledo
3-12
Southern's rally falls short in 8-7 loss to Toledo
03/17/2017 | 4:45:00 | Baseball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team's ninth-inning rally fell a run short in an 8-7 loss to Toledo on Friday afternoon at Illinois Field. Trailing 8-6 in the ninth, SIU loaded the bases with no outs but only got one run in.
"We battled, played hard and gave ourselves a chance," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "We had some better ABs, but we also gave away too many ABs."
SIU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Greg Lambert hit a solo home run in the first inning, and Ryan Sabo came through with a two-out RBI single to score Jake Hand in the second inning.Â
But Toledo (3-14) took a 4-2 lead with a run in the bottom of the second and three more in the fourth. The Salukis (9-8) scored three in the top of the fifth to re-take a 7-5 lead, but Toledo came right back with a three-spot in the bottom half to take an 7-6 lead it would not relinquish. SIU starter Chad Whitmer, who had surrendered six earned runs in his first four starts combined, was tagged for seven earned runs in an uncharacteristic off outing.Â
"That happens. He's been awfully good for us, and sometimes that happens," Henderson said. "There are going to be days when you don't have your best stuff."
Freshman Brad Harrison relieved Whitmer in the fifth and got out of a jam. In the first game of a four-game weekend, Harrison saved the rest of the bullpen with 3.2 good innings, allowing just a single run while striking out four.Â
"That was probably his best outing of the year," Henderson said of Harrison. "He pounded the zone better and executed pitches when he had to. He threw up some zeros and gave our offense a chance. We just couldn't find a way to get enough runs."
Southern Illinois had chances in almost every inning down the stretch. In the sixth, Hand walked and Will Farmer singled. Sabo came through again with two outs, hitting a double into the left field corner. Hand scored easily, but a perfect relay from the Rockets nailed Farmer at the plate and kept the tying run from scoring.
In the seventh, leadoff man Connor Kopach led off with a double but was stranded. After a 1-2-3 eighth, SIU started the ninth with back-to-back singles by Farmer and Sabo. Connor Kopach put down a bunt, and Toledo's closer slipped while fielding it to load the bases with no outs. On the next pitch, Ryan Smith grounded into a double play. Toledo pitched around Greg Lambert, and Nick Hutchins struck out to end the game.
"We had 14 hits, but that needs to translate into more runs," Henderson said. "A couple times, we failed to move runners. When we get a leadoff double, we need to get that run in. We had the bases juiced in the ninth with no outs and gave away two outs on the first pitch after we had battled to get into that situation. We had a couple good ABs, then a couple bad ABs. We need to be more consistent and keep working at it."
The Salukis hit six doubles as a team, the most for the program in more than two years. Ryan Sabo went 4-for-4, Will Farmer went 3-for-4, Connor Kopach went 3-for-5, and Greg Lambert went 2-for-4 with a walk. Sabo and Kopach each had two doubles, and Farmer and Lambert each hit a home run.Â
The Salukis play their first doubleheader of the season tomorrow. SIU faces Toledo again at 11 a.m., with Austin McPheron starting for SIU. Immediately after that game, Southern plays the host Illini in an outstanding pitching matchup. Michael Baird (0.00 ERA in 28 innings) will face Illinois ace Ty Weber, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning last weekend against defending national champ Coastal Carolina.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: CALHOUN, Steven (1-0)
L: Whitmer, Chad (1-1)
S: JACOB, Michael (3)
Batting:
2B: Kopach, Connor 2 ; Hutchins, Nick 1 ; Hand, Jake 1 ; Sabo, Ryan 2
HR: Lambert, Greg 1 ; Farmer, Will 1
RBI: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Lambert, Greg 2 ; Farmer, Will 1 ; Sabo, Ryan 2
SH: Smith, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Lambert, Greg 1 ; Hand, Jake 2 ; Farmer, Will 2 ; Sabo, Ryan 1
CS: Lambert, Greg 1
Batting:
2B: ADOLPH, Ross 1 ; BOLLINGER, Dalton 1 ; MONTOYA, AJ 3 ; BETTINGER, Malave 1
HR: CALES, Josh 1
RBI: ADOLPH, Ross 1 ; MONTOYA, AJ 5 ; BETTINGER, Malave 1 ; CALES, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HANSEN, Matt 1 ; CAMPBELL, Riley 2 ; ADOLPH, Ross 2 ; BOLLINGER, Dalton 1 ; MONTOYA, AJ 1 ; CALES, Josh 1
SB: BOSS, Brad 1
