Southern Illinois University
11-9
Illinois
5-12
Saluki pitching shuts down Illini in 3-1 win
03/19/2017 | 8:03:00 | Baseball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Southern Illinois pitchers Joey Marciano, Alex Gutermuth and Ryan Netemeyer struck out 13 and limited Illinois to four hits in a 3-1 Saluki win over the Illini on Sunday afternoon at Illinois Field.Â
"That was a good college baseball game, well played by both sides," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "There was a lot of good pitching out there for a fourth game of the weekend. We pitched extremely well, and they ran out good arms out there. We found a way to get a couple runs and make it stand up."
Southern Illinois starter Joey Marciano dominated the first four innings, allowing only one walk and one hit while striking out six. He walked the bases loaded in the fifth inning but got out of it unharmed with two more strikeouts. He moved to 2-0 on the season after his five one-hit innings with a career-high eight strikeouts.Â
"He rarely gets hit hard. He was in control," Henderson said. "When he attacks, he has success. The last pitch of the day he throws at 91, and it blows a guy away in a full count. Trust your stuff and go after people. When he does that, he's awfully special."
Illinois (5-12) countered with Luke Schilling, who was in the mid- to upper-90s throughout his six innings of work. Shilling struck out eight but walked five and threw two wild pitches, and both wild pitches allowed Saluki runs to score.Â
"That guy is as good of an arm as we will see all year long," Henderson said. "He was throwing 95-96 and touching 97; that's not something you see every day in college baseball."
Southern (11-9) gave Marciano an early lead with a manufactured run in the third inning. Dyllin Mucha drew a lead-off walk and stole second. Connor Kopach got Mucha to third with a productive groundout, and he scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Kopach padded the lead with a two-out home run to left. In the sixth, Logan Blackfan hit his first career triple and scored on a wild pitch to give SIU a 3-0 lead.
"We took advantage of some opportunities we had," Henderson said. "Kopach's home run was huge. When a guy is throwing with that velocity and is a little erratic, sometimes that can work in his favor. We chased some balls, but that's going to happen when he's throwing an 89-mph slider, so I have no issues with that. We played well."Â
Alex Gutermuth relieved Marciano in the sixth and quickly threw two scoreless frames. In the eighth inning, Illinois first baseman Pat McInerney homered, the only run Gutermuth has allowed in 12.2 innings this year. The next two batters doubled and walked, and Ryan Netemeyer was called in for a five out save. After a walk to load the bases, Netemeyer struck out Anthony Drago and got a groundout from Dan Rowbottom to end the inning. Netemeyer struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his 20th career save, which is second in SIU history.Â
"Both of those guys did a great job," Henderson said. "(Gutermuth) gave up his first run of the year, and maybe he lost his focus a little bit, but he did a great job. Netemeyer's velocity was much better, and he ended the game on his best breaking ball of the year."
After SIU started the four-game weekend with two losses to Toledo, the Salukis bounced back with back-to-back wins over the host Illini to split the weekend. Southern Illinois is 11-9 after 20 games, which included 17 games on the road. Nine of the next 10 games will be at Itchy Jones Stadium, beginning with a 5 p.m. game against Murray State on Wednesday, March 22.Â
"I'm proud of our guys for bouncing back," Henderson said. "We didn't play well the first two days of the weekend, but we found a way to pick ourselves up and leave on a positive note. That's something we will continue to build on. Confidence-wise, we should leave here feeling pretty good about ourselves."
NOTES
SIU extended its lead in the all-time series against Illinois to 38-35 ... SIU and Illinois will play again this season, on May 2 at Itchy Jones Stadium ... Connor Kopach has reached base in all 20 games this season ... The Salukis have stolen 38 bases through 20 games this season; SIU stole 38 bases in 57 games last year ... Ryan Netemeyer is only the second player in SIU history with 20 career saves, joining all-time leader Bryant George (2007-10), who had 30 career saves ... Joey Marciano had eight strikeouts, a career high ... Opposing batters are hitting just .145 against Marciano this year.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Marciano, Joey (2-0)
L: Shilling, Luke (1-1)
S: Netemeyer, Ryan (7)
Batting:
2B: Lambert, Greg 1 ; Hand, Jake 1
3B: Blackfan, Logan 1
HR: Kopach, Connor 1
RBI: Kopach, Connor 1
SH: Mucha, Dyllin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Mucha, Dyllin 1
SB: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Hand, Jake 1 ; Mucha, Dyllin 1
CS: Lambert, Greg 1 ; Hutchins, Nick 1
HBP: Sabo, Ryan 1 ; Mucha, Dyllin 1
PO: Mucha, Dyllin 1
Batting:
2B: Spillane, Bren 1 ; Dodge, Casey 1
HR: McInerney, Pat 1
RBI: McInerney, Pat 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McInerney, Pat 1
