Friday, May 25
Dallas, Texas
9 a.m.
Southern Illinois University
28-30
12
vs
14
Indiana State
31-23
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
0
2
3
0
0
3
0
0
4
0
12
15
2
Indiana State
1
2
0
5
3
0
0
0
1
2
14
16
3
SIU's season ends with 14-12 loss to Indiana State
05/25/2018 | 7:48:00 | Baseball
DALLAS, Texas - The Southern Illinois baseball team's season came to a close with a 14-12 10-inning loss to Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals. SIU rallied from a six-run deficit to take the lead in the ninth inning, but the Sycamores tied the game in the ninth and won it on a walk-off two run homer in the 10th.
"I'm unbelievably proud," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "I've said all along how much I care for these kids and what a great group they are. They take care of things and never quit. That was never more evident than today. To be down three runs in the ninth and battle back, that's a testament to the kids we have in the program."
SIU entered the ninth inning trailing by three runs. Grey Epps came through with a pinch-hit RBI single to bring SIU within 11-9. For the third-straight game, senior Connor Kopach came through in the clutch. With two outs, he hit a two-run single to tie the game. Logan Blackfan drew a walk, and Southern took the lead three pitches later when an error allowed a run to score.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Sycamores (31-22) had two outs with a runner on second. SIU's all-time saves leader Ryan Netemeyer got a seemingly game-ending chopper up the middle, but Luke Fegan made a head-first slide into first base to barely beat the throw, and the run scored from second to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
"You're two or three inches away from winning the game," Henderson said. "It's a cruel game, but that's why it's a great game, too. You're never out of it. It's the ninth inning, and Kopach and Blackfan step up again. Netemeyer did all we asked him to do. We'll miss that entire group. They deserve to be extremely proud of what they've done. They taught guys how to compete. I'm sorry it had to end that way."
Indiana State's Roberto Enriquez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to win the game for the Sycamores. Indiana State knocked of SIU twice in the MVC Tournament to end Southern's season, both in walk-off fashion.
Early in the game, SIU took a 5-3 lead after three innings, but Indiana State scored five runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to seize a commanding 11-5 lead. Nikola Vasic got half of SIU's deficit back with a three-run homer in the sixth. Neither team scored until the eventful ninth inning comebacks.
SIU showed incredible late-inning resilience in every game of the MVC Tournament. In the opening game, SIU was down to its last strike three times, but Kopach tied the game with an RBI single before Indiana State walked off in the bottom half. In the second game, the Salukis overcame a 4-3 eighth-inning deficit against Evansville to force extra innings, again thanks to a Kopach RBI, and won on a Logan Blackfan RBI single. Today, SIU fought all the way back from six runs down to force extra innings before falling.
The loss marked the ends of eight Saluki senior careers. Four of them—Michael Baird, Blackfan, Kopach and Netemeyer—will go down with their names in the record books. Baird ranks No. 2 all-time in career starts and innings pitched and No. 6 in strikeouts. Blackfan is the SIU all-time doubles record holder (by 19) and third in RBIs. Kopach ranks second in steals and fifth in both doubles and triples. Netemeyer goes out as the MVC's No. 2 all-time saves leader.
SIU ended the season with a 28-30 record.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ethan Larrison (3-6)
L: Netemeyer, Ryan (0-5)
Batting:
2B: Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Ulick, Austin 1
HR: Vasic, Nikola 1 ; Lyon, Alex 1 ; Kengott, Jared 1
RBI: Vasic, Nikola 3 ; Kopach, Connor 2 ; Lyon, Alex 1 ; Kengott, Jared 1 ; Epps, Grey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vasic, Nikola 1 ; Kopach, Connor 2 ; Lyon, Alex 2 ; Ulick, Austin 1 ; Kengott, Jared 2 ; Crawford, Kenton 2 ; Hudson, Brad 1 ; Epps, Grey 1
HBP: Kopach, Connor 1
Batting:
2B: Clay Dungan 2 ; Cj Huntley 1
HR: Roberto Enriquez 1
RBI: Clay Dungan 3 ; Cj Huntley 3 ; Dane Giesler 2 ; Roberto Enriquez 3 ; Luke Fegen 1
SH: Hayden Jaco 1
SF: Cj Huntley 1 ; Dane Giesler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clay Dungan 3 ; Cj Huntley 1 ; Jarrod Watkins 1 ; Jake Means 3 ; Roberto Enriquez 2 ; Luke Fegen 3 ; Hayden Jaco 1
SB: Clay Dungan 1
HBP: Jake Means 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
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