Southern Illinois University
9-9
Toledo
4-15
Salukis bounce back to beat Illinois and split doubleheader
03/18/2017 | 6:30:00 | Baseball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team bounced back from a 10-2 loss to Toledo with an 8-5 win over Illinois to split a doubleheader at Illinois Field on Saturday afternoon.Â
"We obviously didn't play well in the first game. We had to start making some strides in the second game, and I thought we did that," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "I considered that to be a pretty big game, and our effort and energy was much better. I saw guys for the first time really making adjustments. We were far from perfect; but if we continue to make strides like that, we'll get there."
Toledo (4-15) jumped out to a 3-1 lead after six innings in the 11 a.m. opener. Southern (10-9) struggled offensively all game, finishing with four hits. The Rockets used a seven-run eighth inning to put the game out of reach.Â
"In terms of energy, that was probably the worst game we've had," Henderson said. "The story of that game was leadoff free passes. They scored in three innings, and all three started with a free pass. We walked the nine-hole in that seven-run inning, and then we didn't get an out on a sacrifice bunt. That's how big innings happen. We didn't do many things right."
At the start of the Toledo game, the wind chill was at 28 degrees with a 15-25 mph wind blowing straight into SIU's first-base dugout. Southern fell behind Illinois 2-0 early, but the Salukis scored the next four to take a 4-2 lead. Illinois tied the game at four on a two-run homer, but SIU put up a four-run seventh to earn a big bounce-back win.Â
"We bounced back and beat a talented Illinois team at their place," Henderson said. "That's a big win for us, and I'm proud of our guys. It was brutal out there. We were in that wind and those temperatures for seven hours, and we continued to battle. That was big for us."
Michael Baird started the second game for SIU. Illinois scored a run in the first inning, ending Baird's streak of 28-consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to open the year, but Greg Lambert made a big-time throw on a would-be sacrifice fly to nail the runner at home and prevent a big inning.Â
Baird allowed five runs (three earned) in eight innings, the only time in his last 20 starts he allowed more than three runs in a game. He threw 23 first-pitch strikes; and even though Illinois managed 10 hits, nine of them were singles.
"He had really good stuff. I think you have to give the credit to Illinois. They did a great job," Henderson said. "They didn't try to do too much against him. They know him so well, and they probably don't ever want to see him again. They know he's going to throw strikes, and in some ways, that worked against him today. They were very aggressive, and you have to give them credit for having a good approach and finding a way to score some runs against him."
Illinois' only extra-base hit was a two-run home run in the fourth to tie the game, 4-4. With the score holding there into the seventh, Southern Illinois came through with a big inning. Dyllin Mucha reached on an error to lead off the inning, and Connor Kopach followed with a single on a hit-and-run. Will Farmer bunted them into scoring position, and the Illini (5-10) walked Greg Lambert intentionally to load the bases with one out. Â
The Salukis scored their first run of the inning on a balk and their second run on a Logan Blackfan RBI groundout. Jake Hand beat out an infield single with two outs to drive in another run, and Southern got its fourth run on a wild pitch. Illinois got a run back in the bottom half, but Baird cruised through the eighth and Ryan Netemeyer pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.Â
The win gave Southern its first of the four-game weekend after dropping the first two to Toledo. Southern plays its fourth and final game tomorrow at approximately 2:30 against Illinois. That game will begin about 40 minutes after the conclusion of Illinois' game against Toledo, which starts at 11 a.m.Â
"Those were our worst two games of the year," Henderson said of the Toledo losses. "If you come out and lay an egg again, you don't know where things are going to go. I told our guys to build on (the Illinois win). You hate to say it this early in the year, but that was a big game and a big win for us. We beat the state school in their yard. That's a good win for us."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ACHTER, Ross (2-2)
L: McPheron, Austin (1-2)
Batting:
2B: HANSEN, Matt 1
RBI: HANSEN, Matt 1 ; ADOLPH, Ross 1 ; BOLLINGER, Dalton 1 ; BRITT, Jacob 1 ; RYAN, Michael 2
SH: CAMPBELL, Riley 1 ; RYAN, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HANSEN, Matt 2 ; CAMPBELL, Riley 1 ; BOLLINGER, Dalton 1 ; MONTOYA, AJ 1 ; BENNETT, Antonio 1 ; BRITT, Jacob 1 ; BOSS, Brad 2 ; RYAN, Michael 1
SB: CAMPBELL, Riley 1
CS: RYAN, Michael 1
HBP: BOSS, Brad 1
Batting:
2B: Hutchins, Nick 1
RBI: Blackfan, Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fleming, Chuck 1 ; Hutchins, Nick 1
CS: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Smith, Ryan 1
