Tuesday, May 14
Carbondale, Ill.
5 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
23-25
19
vs
8
Saint Louis
24-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Saint Louis
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
3
8
7
4
Southern Illinois
2
0
3
1
0
0
11
2
X
19
14
3
Offensive explosion fuels 19-8 win over Saint Louis
05/14/2019 | 9:04:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois jumped out to a 6-0 lead, then put up 11 more runs in the seventh inning, to blow out Saint Louis 19-8 on Tuesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Salukis won their sixth-straight home game and finished the season 10-2 in mid-week games.Â
SIU (23-25) sent 16 men to the plate in the 11-run seventh inning that blew open a 6-5 nail biter into a 19-8 romp. Alex Lyon went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, and five RBIs in the seventh inning alone, and Lyon's eight RBIs in the game tied a school record last accomplished more than 19 years ago.Â
"We were very loose tonight. Our guys had fun, and I think it showed in everything we did," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "We were loose and relaxed all night, and we remained that way. We kept the same approach all game, and that's something we haven't done a great job of. I'm proud of our guys for their makeup. Coming off a tough weekend, we played loose and free and with confidence. I'm excited about that."
Brad Harrison returned to the mound for Southern Illinois and saw his first action since April 5 after a bout with arm fatigue. He was expected to only go two innings, but he needed less than 30 pitches to get the first six outs, and a six-pitch third inning sent him out for a fourth scoreless inning. Harrison, on a pitch count, was credited with the win and improved to 3-1 while lowering his ERA to 2.92.Â
"We talk about setting the tone early, and Brad Harrison going out and throwing four shutout innings was obviously crucial," Henderson said. "He didn't walk anybody, and that's why he had success. He got better and better every inning. He set the tone."
While Harrison was rolling, the Saluki offense was enjoying the start of a breakout day offensively. SIU scored two runs in the first inning, three more in the third and one in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead.Â
When Harrison exited the game, Saint Louis (24-26) threatened in the fifth inning. Corey Mitson walked the bottom third of SLU's order, starting a five-run Billiken rally that included two hits, an error and a passed ball. But SIU's offense didn't blink, barrelling up several balls in the fifth and sixth innings before breaking through with the 11-run seventh, which was started with a towering three-run homer by Lyon.
"Up and down the lineup, we had good ABs. Obviously, we got some help, but we took advantage of that," Henderson said. "We took good swings. We were loose and free. I'm proud of our offense."
SIU's running game was also outstanding. The Salukis stole seven bases, including a school-record tying four stolen bases by Will LaRue, who was one of five players to have a multi-hit game. That quintent (Lyon, LaRue, Aiden McMahan, J.T. Weber and Grey Epps) combined to go 11-for-23. Nikola Vasic and Ian Walters didn't record a hit but scored seven runs and drew six walks.Â
The Salukis improved to 18-7 at Itchy Jones Stadium, the program's best home record through 25 games since 2007.Â
SIU hosts nationally ranked Dallas Baptist this weekend at Itchy Jones Stadium in the final weekend of the regular season. The series opens on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. The program will honor its eight seniors prior to Saturday's series finale.
Notes: SIU is 20-5 in mid-week games since the start of the 2018 season ... SIU is 22-2 when leading after six innings ... SIU is 27 games above .500 at home since the start of the 2016 season (69-42-1) and its 18 home wins are tied for the second-most for an SIU team since 2008 (20, 2016) ... SIU has stolen 134 bases, which passed last year's team for third-most in school history. SIU is five stolen bases shy of the school record (139 in 1971) ... SIU's 19 runs were a season high, and the 11-run seventh inning was tied for the 25th highest scoring inning in the nation this year ... SIU is 18-4 when out-hitting an opponent, or when hits are tied ... SIU is 17-7 when it doesn't allow a home run ... J.T. Weber extended hit reached base streak to 10 games. Weber 6-for-9 in his last two games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harrison, Brad (3-1)
L: TOWNSEND, Colin (0-3)
Batting:
2B: GARELLA, Jake 1
RBI: BARTLETT, Corrigan 1 ; REDDING, Cam 1 ; GARELLA, Jake 1 ; LIVORSI, Ben 1 ; JORDAN, Kevin 2
SH: BARTLETT, Corrigan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BARTLETT, Corrigan 1 ; REDDING, Cam 1 ; SCHILD, Colten 1 ; YOUNGBRANDT, Scott 1 ; LIVORSI, Ben 2 ; ROBINSON, Griffin 1 ; JORDAN, Kevin 1
HBP: JORDAN, Kevin 1
Batting:
2B: Lyon, Alex 1 ; Weber, J.T. 1 ; Epps, Grey 1
HR: Lyon, Alex 1
RBI: LaRue, Will 3 ; Walters, Ian 1 ; Lyon, Alex 8 ; Weber, J.T. 1 ; Ulick, Austin 1
SH: Crawford, Kenton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vasic, Nikola 4 ; LaRue, Will 3 ; Hudson, Brad 1 ; Walters, Ian 3 ; Lyon, Alex 3 ; McMahan, Aiden 1 ; Weber, J.T. 1 ; Ulick, Austin 1 ; Epps, Grey 2
SB: Vasic, Nikola 2 ; LaRue, Will 4 ; Walters, Ian 1
CS: LaRue, Will 1
HBP: Walters, Ian 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Vinson Davis
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - DJ Williams
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Chris Presto
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Nick Hill
Sunday, September 21