Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
23-25, 6-8
Missouri State
32-14, 13-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri State | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 12 | 2 |
| Southern Illinois | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 1 |
No. 16 Missouri State clinches series at SIU with 19-9 win
05/06/2017 | 8:50:00 | Baseball
Southern Illinois (23-25, 6-8 MVC) and Missouri State (32-14, 13-0 MVC) each had 12 hits in the game, but SIU walked 10 batters and hit one in the loss. Nine of the 11 free passes came around to score. In their four-run second and nine-run ninth, the Bears scored the 13 runs on a total of five hits. MSU won its 17th consecutive MVC game dating back to the end of last season.Â
"Let's face it, they're a great offensive club, but we've done a great job when we've pitched," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "Those are great hitters. Tip your hat to them, but we've done a good job with them when we've been ahead (in counts). We said coming in that we had to control the bottom of the order, and we've given up too many free passes down there. If you get behind them, and you have to throw fastballs, they're going to hammer it."
The Saluki offense battled back throughout the game. Trailing 4-0 in the third inning, SIU got a leadoff triple from Dyllin Mucha and an RBI single from Connor Kopach. Kopach came around to score on a Greg Lambert groundout.Â
Missouri State seemingly put the game out of reach early, going up 9-2 after the top of the fifth, but the Salukis scored five unanswered runs to get within 9-7. Ryan Smith extended his hitting streak to 11 games, a Saluki high for 2017, and SIU loaded the bases with no outs thanks to a Greg Lambert double and a Logan Blackfan walk. Jake Hand, Nick Hutchins and Will Farmer drove in those three runs, and Ryan Sabo came through with a two-out double to bring SIU within 9-6.
"We got down early, and we came right back. Our position players never quit, never stopped battling all day. I'm proud of that," Henderson said.
Hand singled and Nick Hutchins doubled with one out in the seventh inning, and Will Farmer drove home another run to make it five unanswered runs from SIU.Â
Missouri State used ace reliever Jake Fromson for two innings and had star closer Bryan Young warm in the pen--it was a save situation with MSU leading 10-7 entering the ninth inning. But the Bears blew it open in the top half of the last frame. They scored their first three runs of the inning on only one hit. Then, with the bases loaded, the top of the order hit a single, double and homer in a row to put the finishing touches on the win. SIU scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to set the final score.Â
After SIU took a 5-4 lead into the eighth inning of the opening game, the Salukis have walked 16 in the last 11 innings and surrendered 22 runs to the high-powered Bears, who are in contention to host an NCAA Tournament Regional with an RPI in the top-20.Â
"The difference between 2-0 and 0-2 in this series is not throwing strikes. We've walked 16 batters in the last 11 innings," Henderson said. "I told (the pitchers), 'You're here for a reason. Your stuff is good enough. You have to trust it and throw the ball in the strike zone. If you make a mistake and the ball gets hammered, that happens. But if you get beat because you walk people or you're behind every hitter, that's not a mistake. People are going to hit balls hard.'"
The teams wrap up the three-game series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, May 7. Joey Marciano will start for SIU.Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Witherspoon,Nate (3-3)
L: Baird, Michael (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Paulsen,Justin 1 ; Eierman,Jeremy 1 ; Graham,Blake 1 ; Duffy,Jack 1
HR: Burger,Jake 1 ; Graham,Blake 1
RBI: Steinmetz,Hunter 3 ; Paulsen,Justin 2 ; Burger,Jake 3 ; Graham,Blake 4 ; Jefferson,Alex 1 ; Geha,Logan 1 ; Privitera,John 4
SF: Steinmetz,Hunter 1 ; Jefferson,Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Steinmetz,Hunter 1 ; Paulsen,Justin 1 ; Burger,Jake 3 ; Eierman,Jeremy 3 ; Graham,Blake 2 ; Ruff,Landan 1 ; Duffy,Jack 3 ; Jefferson,Alex 2 ; Geha,Logan 2 ; Privitera,John 1
SB: Duffy,Jack 1
HBP: Geha,Logan 1
Batting:
2B: Lambert, Greg 1 ; Hutchins, Nick 1 ; Farmer, Will 2 ; Sabo, Ryan 1
3B: Mucha, Dyllin 1
RBI: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Lambert, Greg 1 ; Hand, Jake 1 ; Hutchins, Nick 1 ; Farmer, Will 2 ; Sabo, Ryan 1 ; Anderson, Hunter 1
SF: Farmer, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Smith, Ryan 1 ; Lambert, Greg 1 ; Hand, Jake 2 ; Fugitt, Addison 1 ; Hutchins, Nick 2 ; Mucha, Dyllin 1
SB: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Hutchins, Nick 1
