Saturday, March 2
Carbondale, Ill.
1 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
6-3
16
vs
1
Western Illinois
2-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Western Illinois
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
3
Southern Illinois
0
0
4
1
1
0
0
10
X
16
10
0
Baseball completes series sweep of Western Illinois with 16-1 win
03/02/2019 | 5:05:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois baseball team completed a three-game series sweep of Western Illinois on Saturday with a 16-1 win at Itchy Jones Stadium, behind another strong pitching performance, this time by Dylan Givens.
A 6-foot-5 junior right-hander, Givens (2-0) pitched 7.0 innings and allowed just four hits and a pair of walks. He struck out six. For the weekend, SIU's starting pitchers went 22.0 innings and allowed only two runs and 10 base hits. Most importantly, the starters walked only four to go with 18 strikeouts.
"We had three really well-pitched baseball games by our starters this weekend," said SIU head coach Ken Henderson, whose team won a doubleheader over Western yesterday, 8-1 and 6-1. "You keep throwing like that, it gives us a chance."
The offensive hero of the series was center fielder Will LaRue. He went 2-for-3 today with a pair of walks and drove in the first two runs of the game in the third inning by scorching a triple into the gap in right center. For the series, LaRue was 6-for-11 with seven runs driven in.
"We didn't have a lot of hits early in today's game, but we had key hits," Henderson said. "Looking back at all three games, (LaRue) had the three biggest ABs of the weekend and got us going in all three games."
After a four-run third inning, Southern added a run on a solo home run by DH Aiden McMahan, the first homer of his Saluki career. He had only eight at-bats on the season and started today because first baseman JT Weber injured his hand in yesterday's game two. McMahan, a Rend Lake transfer, responded by going 2-for-6 with 3 RBI.
"We know he can hit," Henderson said. "We just have three really good catchers and (Philip) Archer sitting there in the DH spot. It's been difficult getting him opportunities. When you get opportunities, you have to take advantage of it, and he certainly did that today."
Comfortably ahead, 6-1, Givens continued to mow down hitters before leaving after seven innings and 96 pitches. He faced just four batters over the minimum.
"I had control of my changeup, which is a very good thing for me against lefties," Givens said. "I also had good control of my slider so I could back-foot lefties or get it over for a strike against the righties."
The Salukis blew the game open in a wild eighth inning with 10 runs. The frame featured four hits, six walks and two hit-batters. The Leathernecks (2-7) used five pitchers on the day, who combined to surrender 10 hits, 15 walks and hit three batters.
Saluki baserunners made life miserable for the defense, with four players combining to go 5-for-5 on stolen bases.
"Putting pressure on middle infielders forces them to move around and try to hold you," Henderson said. "When we get the right people on base, we can do that."
The Salukis have won five-straight games after starting the season 1-3.
"We took care of business," Henderson said. "I'm proud of our guys for battling, grinding."
A 6-foot-5 junior right-hander, Givens (2-0) pitched 7.0 innings and allowed just four hits and a pair of walks. He struck out six. For the weekend, SIU's starting pitchers went 22.0 innings and allowed only two runs and 10 base hits. Most importantly, the starters walked only four to go with 18 strikeouts.
"We had three really well-pitched baseball games by our starters this weekend," said SIU head coach Ken Henderson, whose team won a doubleheader over Western yesterday, 8-1 and 6-1. "You keep throwing like that, it gives us a chance."
The offensive hero of the series was center fielder Will LaRue. He went 2-for-3 today with a pair of walks and drove in the first two runs of the game in the third inning by scorching a triple into the gap in right center. For the series, LaRue was 6-for-11 with seven runs driven in.
"We didn't have a lot of hits early in today's game, but we had key hits," Henderson said. "Looking back at all three games, (LaRue) had the three biggest ABs of the weekend and got us going in all three games."
After a four-run third inning, Southern added a run on a solo home run by DH Aiden McMahan, the first homer of his Saluki career. He had only eight at-bats on the season and started today because first baseman JT Weber injured his hand in yesterday's game two. McMahan, a Rend Lake transfer, responded by going 2-for-6 with 3 RBI.
"We know he can hit," Henderson said. "We just have three really good catchers and (Philip) Archer sitting there in the DH spot. It's been difficult getting him opportunities. When you get opportunities, you have to take advantage of it, and he certainly did that today."
Comfortably ahead, 6-1, Givens continued to mow down hitters before leaving after seven innings and 96 pitches. He faced just four batters over the minimum.
"I had control of my changeup, which is a very good thing for me against lefties," Givens said. "I also had good control of my slider so I could back-foot lefties or get it over for a strike against the righties."
The Salukis blew the game open in a wild eighth inning with 10 runs. The frame featured four hits, six walks and two hit-batters. The Leathernecks (2-7) used five pitchers on the day, who combined to surrender 10 hits, 15 walks and hit three batters.
Saluki baserunners made life miserable for the defense, with four players combining to go 5-for-5 on stolen bases.
"Putting pressure on middle infielders forces them to move around and try to hold you," Henderson said. "When we get the right people on base, we can do that."
The Salukis have won five-straight games after starting the season 1-3.
"We took care of business," Henderson said. "I'm proud of our guys for battling, grinding."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Givens, Dylan (2-0)
L: Justin Foy (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Trenton Bauer 1 ; Steve McShane 1
RBI: Bailey Montgomery 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Steve McShane 1
CS: CJ Schaeffer Jr. 1
Batting:
2B: Archer, Philip 1
3B: LaRue, Will 1
HR: McMahan, Aiden 1
RBI: LaRue, Will 2 ; Crawford, Kenton 1 ; Walters, Ian 1 ; Lyon, Alex 1 ; Archer, Philip 2 ; Butkiewicz, Colin 1 ; Michel, Brady 1 ; McMahan, Aiden 3
SF: Butkiewicz, Colin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vasic, Nikola 3 ; LaRue, Will 2 ; Walters, Ian 2 ; Hudson, Brad 1 ; Lyon, Alex 1 ; Archer, Philip 2 ; McMahan, Aiden 2 ; Epps, Grey 1 ; Fugitt, Addison 2
SB: Vasic, Nikola 1 ; LaRue, Will 1 ; Walters, Ian 1 ; Fugitt, Addison 2
HBP: Vasic, Nikola 2 ; Walters, Ian 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
6
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
3
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Vinson Davis
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - DJ Williams
Sunday, September 21