Sunday, March 25
Carbondale, Ill.
12 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
12-12
10
vs
8
UC Irvine
12-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Irvine
0
1
2
1
3
0
1
0
0
8
18
1
Southern Illinois
2
0
4
2
1
1
0
0
X
10
14
3
Salukis take series from UC Irvine with 10-8 win
03/25/2018 | 9:08:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team beat UC Irvine 10-8 to win the series with the Anteaters. The teams combined for 31 hits by the seventh-inning stretch, and SIU relievers Trey McDaniel and Ryan Netemeyer each threw a scoreless frame at the end of the game to give the Salukis the series win.
"I told our guys that this was one of the ugliest wins we'll be a part of but they key is, it's a win," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "We just kept grinding. It was one of those days. Hitting is contagious. Both teams started hitting today; and once you get that going, it's just mental. Guys just keep hitting. (UC Irvine) did a great job with two strikes and two outs, not giving up on innings; but at the end of the day, we found a way to get more runs."
SIU (12-12) jumped out to a 6-3 lead after a four-run third inning and never trailed after that. The 'Eaters (12-10) got within 8-7, but Allen Montgomery (sixth), McDaniel (eighth), and Netemeyer (ninth) pitched scoreless innings down the stretch to preserve the win. Netemeyer tied an SIU record with his 30th career save, which ranks fourth in MVC history.
"They did a really good job putting up two zeros on a day when obviously throwing up zeros was tough to do," Henderson said. "It wasn't happening very often, and those guys did it, and we found a way to win."
SIU got a clutch two-out, two-run single from Grey Epps, and Brad Hudson went 2-for-4 in the 9-spot in the lineup. Leadoff hitter Nikola Vasic went 3-for-5 ahead of the heart of Southern's lineup.
"If we get those guys on base, we're going to score some runs," Henderson said. "We did that today. We were more aggressive and picked guys up when we had opportunities. It was a good day offensively."
In an offensive game, a trio of stellar defensive plays led the Salukis to the win. Grey Epps made a diving catch in a bases-loaded, two-out situation to save two runs in the third inning. Logan Blackfan made two diving plays, the first of which saved two more runs in a bases-loaded spot in the first inning.
The series marked the first time in Saluki Baseball history that a California university traveled to Carbondale for a baseball series. Beyond that, the Anteaters have one of the premier programs on the west coast, having gone to the College World Series as recently as 2014. UCI head coach Mike Gillespie has won a national championship and taken teams to the College World Series five times in his Hall-of-Fame career. Gillespie is retiring at the end of the season.
"They're a very good team and a very well-coached team. I think Ken Henderson is a class act with a good team that knows how to play. It's been a really good experience for us. Playing this team at this park has been a real challenge for us, and we like it," Gillespie said in a pre-game interview with SIU broadcaster Mike Reis. "I'm being genuine and sincere when I say I'm impressed with this Southern Illinois baseball program and their staff. This guy (Connor) Kopach, by the way, is a spectacular player. Anybody would love to have that guy."
Henderson returned the praise for Gillespie and his program.
"I can sit here and say it's just another weekend and just another team, but it was fun," Henderson said. "Not just the fact that they're from California, but the fact that we've never played before. To get UC Irvine to come here and play a series, they're a great program. It was enjoyable. What a great organization, and Coach Gillespie is one of the classiest men I've ever met. It was an honor to play them. But at the end of the day, we wanted to beat them; so to show up, take care of business, and win the series was huge."
SIU improved to 9-4 in its last 13 games after going 3-1 in the past week. The Salukis host Arkansas State on Tuesday before opening Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend at Illinois State.
"I feel good where we're at heading into league play, but we have to keep getting better, too," Henderson said. "It certainly wasn't the prettiest game in the world. There were some things we have to clean up. As long as we continue to play hard and our effort is good, we will continue to get better, and we will be in good shape."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Farmer, Noah (1-1)
L: Denholm, Trenton (1-3)
S: Netemeyer, Ryan (2)
Batting:
2B: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Kreuter, Cole 1
3B: Fitzpatrick, Ryan 1
RBI: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Brooks, Brendan 1 ; Fitzpatrick, Ryan 1 ; Anderson, Nick 3 ; Coss, Parker 1 ; Koss, Christian 1
SH: Coss, Parker 1
SF: Anderson, Nick 1 ; Coss, Parker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Fitzpatrick, Ryan 2 ; Kreuter, Cole 2 ; Anderson, Nick 1 ; Castro, Jacob 1 ; Coss, Parker 1
CS: Palmer, Jake 1
HBP: Castro, Jacob 1 ; Coss, Parker 1
Batting:
2B: Curtis, Drew 1
RBI: Vasic, Nikola 1 ; Kopach, Connor 2 ; Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Curtis, Drew 2 ; Epps, Grey 2 ; Hudson, Brad 1
SH: Fugitt, Addison 1 ; Ulick, Austin 1
SF: Kopach, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vasic, Nikola 1 ; Fugitt, Addison 1 ; Blackfan, Logan 2 ; Lyon, Alex 3 ; Curtis, Drew 1 ; Epps, Grey 1 ; Hudson, Brad 1
SB: Fugitt, Addison 1
CS: Kopach, Connor 1
HBP: Kopach, Connor 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF
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RHP
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RHP
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