Friday, March 24
Carbondale, Ill.
1 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
11-11
6
vs
8
Jacksonville State
11-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Jacksonville State
0
0
0
0
0
1
7
0
0
8
10
0
Southern Illinois
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
1
2
6
8
0
Photo by: Tom Weber
Jacksonville State takes series opener, 8-6
03/24/2017 | 4:37:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Jacksonville State scored seven runs in the seventh inning and held on for an 8-6 win over Southern Illinois on Friday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. SIU scored the game's final five runs but fell to 11-11 on the season.Â
For the first six innings of the game, the teams were in a pitchers' duel. SIU starter Chad Whitmer took a two-hitter into the sixth. The Salukis drew three-straight two-out walks in the fifth to push in a run and take a 1-0 lead. JSU (11-9) tied it with a two-out RBI triple in the top of the sixth.Â
Jacksonville State broke it open with a seven-run seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, pinch hitter Joe McGuire delivered a two-run double to give Jacksonville State the lead. Another run scored on an RBI groundout. Then with two outs, JSU singled, walked and homered to turn a typical low scoring Friday game into a 8-1 rout.Â
"That's the difference," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "When (JSU) had opportunities, they put a good swing on it. When they needed to make pitches, they made pitches. We didn't."
The Salukis battled back almost immediately. Ryan Smith started the bottom of the seventh by winning a nine-pitch battle with a walk, and Ryan Sabo followed with an 11-pitch walk. Connor Kopach walked to load the bases, and a run came home on an RBI fielder's choices by Will Farmer and Greg Lambert.Â
Logan Blackfan drew a walk in the eighth and scored on a Jake Hand double. In the ninth, Sabo drew another walk, and Connor Kopach hit a two-run homer to bring SIU within 8-6. But Southern was never able to get the tying run to the plate, when JSU closer Justin Hoyt came in and retired the next three in order.Â
Justin Yeager gave Southern the chance to come back with two scoreless frames to end the game. Yeager allowed a leadoff double in the eighth but didn't allow JSU to score and didn't allow any other hits in his two innings of work.
"He executed some pitches, especially getting out of that jam," Henderson said.Â
The Salukis drew 10 walks and collected eight hits, but they hit into three double plays and stranded seven. SIU fell to 11-11, the third time this season Southern has been at .500. The first two times, SIU responded with wins. The Salukis send Michael Baird to the mound tomorrow at 2 p.m. to try to even the series.Â
NOTES
Leadoff man Connor Kopach has reached in all 22 games this year ... The No. 9 and No. 1 spots in the lineup reached in all nine plate appearances (Ryan Sabo and Kopach were each 2-for-2 and they drew a combined five walks) but the 2-5 hitters in SIU's lineup went 1-for-16 ... SIU dropped the series opener last year to Jacksonville State before bouncing back to win the next two and the series.
Â
For the first six innings of the game, the teams were in a pitchers' duel. SIU starter Chad Whitmer took a two-hitter into the sixth. The Salukis drew three-straight two-out walks in the fifth to push in a run and take a 1-0 lead. JSU (11-9) tied it with a two-out RBI triple in the top of the sixth.Â
Jacksonville State broke it open with a seven-run seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, pinch hitter Joe McGuire delivered a two-run double to give Jacksonville State the lead. Another run scored on an RBI groundout. Then with two outs, JSU singled, walked and homered to turn a typical low scoring Friday game into a 8-1 rout.Â
"That's the difference," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "When (JSU) had opportunities, they put a good swing on it. When they needed to make pitches, they made pitches. We didn't."
The Salukis battled back almost immediately. Ryan Smith started the bottom of the seventh by winning a nine-pitch battle with a walk, and Ryan Sabo followed with an 11-pitch walk. Connor Kopach walked to load the bases, and a run came home on an RBI fielder's choices by Will Farmer and Greg Lambert.Â
Logan Blackfan drew a walk in the eighth and scored on a Jake Hand double. In the ninth, Sabo drew another walk, and Connor Kopach hit a two-run homer to bring SIU within 8-6. But Southern was never able to get the tying run to the plate, when JSU closer Justin Hoyt came in and retired the next three in order.Â
Justin Yeager gave Southern the chance to come back with two scoreless frames to end the game. Yeager allowed a leadoff double in the eighth but didn't allow JSU to score and didn't allow any other hits in his two innings of work.
"He executed some pitches, especially getting out of that jam," Henderson said.Â
The Salukis drew 10 walks and collected eight hits, but they hit into three double plays and stranded seven. SIU fell to 11-11, the third time this season Southern has been at .500. The first two times, SIU responded with wins. The Salukis send Michael Baird to the mound tomorrow at 2 p.m. to try to even the series.Â
NOTES
Leadoff man Connor Kopach has reached in all 22 games this year ... The No. 9 and No. 1 spots in the lineup reached in all nine plate appearances (Ryan Sabo and Kopach were each 2-for-2 and they drew a combined five walks) but the 2-5 hitters in SIU's lineup went 1-for-16 ... SIU dropped the series opener last year to Jacksonville State before bouncing back to win the next two and the series.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cody Dodd (2-0)
L: Whitmer, Chad (1-2)
S: Justin Hoyt (3)
Batting:
2B: Nolan Greckel 1 ; Trent Simpson 1 ; Hayden White 1 ; Andrew Naismith 1 ; Joe McGuire 1
3B: Taylor Hawthorne 1
HR: Trent Simpson 1
RBI: Nolan Greckel 1 ; Clayton Daniel 1 ; Taylor Hawthorne 1 ; Trent Simpson 3 ; Joe McGuire 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Nolan Greckel 1 ; Clayton Daniel 1 ; Taylor Hawthorne 1 ; Trent Simpson 1 ; Hayden White 1 ; Andrew Naismith 1 ; Payton Young 1 ; Dalton Etheridge 1
SB: Clayton Daniel 1
PO: Taylor Hawthorne 1
Batting:
2B: Hand, Jake 1
HR: Kopach, Connor 1
RBI: Kopach, Connor 2 ; Farmer, Will 1 ; Lambert, Greg 2 ; Hand, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Smith, Ryan 1 ; Sabo, Ryan 3
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
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