Wichita State shuts out SIU, 7-0

Friday, April 7

Wichita, Kan.

6 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

15-16, 3-1

Wichita State

15-14, 1-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Illinois	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Wichita State	0	0	5	0	0	2	0	0	X	7	10	0

04/07/2017 | 9:36:00 | Baseball

Box Score

By: By John Lock | SIUSalukis.com

WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State scored five runs with two outs in the third inning and went on to shut out the Southern Illinois baseball team on Friday night at Eck Stadium, 7-0. SIU (15-16, 3-1 MVC) suffered its first conference loss of the season.

With two outs in the third inning, Wichita State drew a two-out walk and followed with a two-run home run. After that, SIU missed on several difficult plays, and the Shockers took advantage to blow the game open. Logan Blackfan made a sliding stop on a ground ball, but his throw to first was wide. The next WSU hitter hit a towering foul ball down the left field line, but it fell between Will Farmer and Greg Lambert, and Wichita hit a run-scoring double. Then on a shallow fly to right field, Jake Hand, battling the sun, missed on a sliding attempt to give Wichita another double. The next Shocker singled through the right side to score the fifth run of the inning, all with two outs.

"We were slow and lethargic. We weren't ready to go out of the gate," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "Those are plays that we normally make. They were just out of our reach. Usually we fly around and make those plays. We didn't play with much energy."

In the sixth inning, Wichita State set the final score with another two-out, two-run home run. Whitmer had allowed only one homer all season, and Wichita State had hit only nine home runs all year; but the Shockers knocked two out of the park on Whitmer.

Wichita State starter Zach Lewis kept Southern's offense down all day. Lewis threw seven scoreless innings to extend his scoreless streak to 16 innings over his last three starts. In that span, Lewis has allowed only six hits. Southern had three on Friday and was shut out for the second-straight game. SIU was 1-for-10 with runners on base.

"Hitting is contagious and not hitting is contagious," Henderson said. "Right now, we're not hitting. It's mental. We need to put some better ABs together and stop striking out. We need some confidence. If we do that, things can turn around and get rolling just as easy. We have guys that can hit. Right now, we're just not swinging with a lot of confidence."

Southern Illinois turned three double plays in the game to improve its MVC-leading total to 32 this season. Allen Montgomery pitched in relief and threw 2.1 scoreless innings. He induced two of the double-play balls and allowed only one hit.

"When we got down five, we picked up the pace a little bit," Henderson said. "Our defense got better, and Monty came in and did a good job. But it's too late then. We have to be ready from the get-go, and we weren't."

The second game of the three-game series is set for 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Michael Baird will start for SIU, facing Tommy Barnhouse. SIU is 7-0 this year in games started by Baird.