Saturday, March 24
Carbondale, Ill.
2 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
11-12
11
vs
2
UC Irvine
12-9
1
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Irvine
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
5
4
Southern Illinois
2
2
0
4
0
0
1
2
X
11
14
1
Photo by: Madison Case
Southern Illinois evens series with 11-2 win over UC Irvine
03/24/2018 | 8:27:00 | Baseball
Photo Gallery
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team scored eight runs in the first four innings and got seven shutout innings from starter Jamison Steege to earn an 11-2 win over UC Irvine on Saturday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. SIU tied the series at a game apiece after dropping a 10-inning heartbreaker on Friday.
"We were a much better ball club today. I'm proud of our guys," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "That's a big bounce-back win after a tough one yesterday. We were much more aggressive. We got after it a little bit."
Steege was outstanding. Irvine (12-9) led off the game with a single, but Steege got a double play to get out of it. In the second inning, Steege issued back-to-back walks to start the inning but pitched out of that jam. After that, Steege didn't allow another 'Eater to reach scoring position until a two-out double in the seventh inning.
"He threw seven innings of two-hit ball, and took a one-hitter into the seventh, and he didn't have his best stuff today," Henderson said. "That's a compliment to him. He competed his rear end off."
Southern's offense made sure the game was out of reach early. SIU (11-12) was the beneficiary of a pair of UCI errors in the first inning, and Logan Blackfan made it hurt with a two-run double. Nikola Vasic drove two more runs home in the second inning.
Brad Harrison led off the fourth inning with his first career home run. After a Brad Hudson walk, Vasic singled up the middle; and after the center fielder misplayed it, Vasic went all the way around to score. Blackfan drove home another run later in the inning to push the lead to 8-0. Harrison, Grey Epps, and Hudson — the bottom third of today's order — combined to go 6-for-9.
"We haven't been doing a great job (at the bottom of the order)," Henderson said. "We can't win with four or five guys hitting. We have to hit up and down the lineup. We got six hits from the 7-8-9 holes today. That was crucial."
The game was played in a misty overcast, with temperatures in the 40s. Despite that, Southern's offense pounded out 14 hits, the most for the team in the last 10 games. After Steege left after seven innings, Alex Gutermuth pitched a perfect eighth inning, and UC Irvine's only runs came after three-straight hits with two outs in the ninth inning.
"It's not a pleasant day, but our guys don't complain about it and don't talk about it," Henderson said. "We go out and still play hard. We've showed up to play every day. We competed and played hard today in dreary conditions. I'm proud of our guys."
SIU improved to 8-4 in its last 12 games. The Salukis will go for the series win on Sunday at noon, with Brad Harrison taking the mound for the Salukis.
"If we take care of our business — if we throw strikes, make routine plays, and grind out ABs — the results will work out in our favor," Henderson said.
SCHEDULE NOTE: Sunday's game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but was moved up to accommodate UC Irvine's travel schedule. First pitch will now be two hours earlier at 12 p.m. CT.
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team scored eight runs in the first four innings and got seven shutout innings from starter Jamison Steege to earn an 11-2 win over UC Irvine on Saturday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. SIU tied the series at a game apiece after dropping a 10-inning heartbreaker on Friday.
"We were a much better ball club today. I'm proud of our guys," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "That's a big bounce-back win after a tough one yesterday. We were much more aggressive. We got after it a little bit."
Steege was outstanding. Irvine (12-9) led off the game with a single, but Steege got a double play to get out of it. In the second inning, Steege issued back-to-back walks to start the inning but pitched out of that jam. After that, Steege didn't allow another 'Eater to reach scoring position until a two-out double in the seventh inning.
"He threw seven innings of two-hit ball, and took a one-hitter into the seventh, and he didn't have his best stuff today," Henderson said. "That's a compliment to him. He competed his rear end off."
Southern's offense made sure the game was out of reach early. SIU (11-12) was the beneficiary of a pair of UCI errors in the first inning, and Logan Blackfan made it hurt with a two-run double. Nikola Vasic drove two more runs home in the second inning.
Brad Harrison led off the fourth inning with his first career home run. After a Brad Hudson walk, Vasic singled up the middle; and after the center fielder misplayed it, Vasic went all the way around to score. Blackfan drove home another run later in the inning to push the lead to 8-0. Harrison, Grey Epps, and Hudson — the bottom third of today's order — combined to go 6-for-9.
"We haven't been doing a great job (at the bottom of the order)," Henderson said. "We can't win with four or five guys hitting. We have to hit up and down the lineup. We got six hits from the 7-8-9 holes today. That was crucial."
The game was played in a misty overcast, with temperatures in the 40s. Despite that, Southern's offense pounded out 14 hits, the most for the team in the last 10 games. After Steege left after seven innings, Alex Gutermuth pitched a perfect eighth inning, and UC Irvine's only runs came after three-straight hits with two outs in the ninth inning.
"It's not a pleasant day, but our guys don't complain about it and don't talk about it," Henderson said. "We go out and still play hard. We've showed up to play every day. We competed and played hard today in dreary conditions. I'm proud of our guys."
SIU improved to 8-4 in its last 12 games. The Salukis will go for the series win on Sunday at noon, with Brad Harrison taking the mound for the Salukis.
"If we take care of our business — if we throw strikes, make routine plays, and grind out ABs — the results will work out in our favor," Henderson said.
SCHEDULE NOTE: Sunday's game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but was moved up to accommodate UC Irvine's travel schedule. First pitch will now be two hours earlier at 12 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steege, Jamison (3-1)
L: Raymond, Louis (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Peabody, Mike 1 ; Brooks, Brendan 1
RBI: Brooks, Brendan 1 ; Mazur, Griffin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pettengill, Devin 1 ; Peabody, Mike 1
Batting:
2B: Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Curtis, Drew 1 ; Crawford, Kenton 1 ; Hudson, Brad 1
HR: Harrison, Brad 1
RBI: Vasic, Nikola 3 ; Blackfan, Logan 3 ; Crawford, Kenton 1 ; Harrison, Brad 1
SF: Vasic, Nikola 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vasic, Nikola 1 ; Fugitt, Addison 2 ; Kopach, Connor 2 ; Curtis, Drew 1 ; Harrison, Brad 1 ; Kengott, Jared 1 ; Epps, Grey 1 ; Hudson, Brad 2
SB: Fugitt, Addison 2 ; Kopach, Connor 1 ; Hudson, Brad 1
CS: Epps, Grey 1
PO: Harrison, Brad 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
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