Bears power past SIU to take series opener

Friday, April 5

Carbondale, Ill.

6:30 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

15-11, 0-1

Missouri State

10-19, 3-1

Missouri State

Southern Illinois

04/05/2019 | 10:14:00 | Baseball

Box Score

By: By John Lock | SIUSalukis.com

Schedule change » SIU and Missouri State will conclude the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. Admission is free.

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Missouri State hit five home runs to power past SIU and take the series opener, 10-5. SIU led 5-4 after five innings, but the Bears scored six unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings to set the final score.

SIU starter Brad Harrison pitched for the first time since March 16 and was rusty, allowing seven hits and three home runs over three innings, although he struck out six.

"He looked like a pitcher who hadn't pitched in three weeks. That is no fault of his own, but it showed, I think," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "When you have to go into your bullpen on Friday night after three innings, that's a tough situation."

Missouri State's 3-4 hitters, Dakota Kotowski and Joey Polak, nearly single handedly won the game for the Bears (10-19, 3-1 MVC), going a combined 5-for-8 with five home runs. The pair went back-to-back in the first inning. After SIU (15-11, 0-1 MVC) took a 3-2 lead with a three-run bottom half, Polak put MSU back in front with a two-run shot in the third inning. Again, SIU battled back to take a 5-4 lead, but Kotowski and Polak went back-to-back again in the sixth inning to give Missouri State a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

"The first five innings, we played with energy and we played well," Henderson said. "When they put up the three-spot in the sixth, we got deflated a little bit. That took something out of us. We had played extremely hard to take the lead."

Southern's offense was impressive early. After MSU had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning, SIU's first three batters hit a single (Nikola Vasic), triple (Ian Walters), and a double IAlex Lyon) to tie the game just 10 pitches into the bottom half of the first inning. Philip Archer drove home Lyon on a groundout to take the lead. In the fourth inning, SIU's running game produced a pair of runs. Kenton Crawford walked and stole his way into scoring position, and he scored on Addison Fugitt's single. Fugitt then stole second and third, and he gave SIU the lead when the thow to third went into left field.

After Missouri State took its third lead of the game with the three-run sixth, MSU starter Jake Lochner got into a groove. Lochner threw a remarkable 135 pitches in his eight innings. Six of his 11 strikeouts came in his final three innings of work.

"We have to continue to battle and find a way. We lost our edge and didn't get it back," Henderson said. "We were really good on offense for the first five innings: Our approach was good; we did some good things on the bases; but we have to continue that for nine innings."

The teams will conclude the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.