Saturday, February 15
Jackson, Miss.
1 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
1-1
4
at
5
Jackson State
1-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
13
2
Jackson State
0
0
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
14
0
Baseball splits doubleheader at Jackson State
02/15/2020 | 10:45:00 | Baseball
JACKSON, Miss. — The Southern Illinois baseball team split a doubleheader against Jackson State on Saturday afternoon at Braddy Field. JSU (1-2) walked off in extra-innings to take the first game, 5-4 (10 inn.). SIU (2-1) bounced back with a 19-8 victory in game two, as they exploded for 10 runs in the final two innings.
"We didn't play our best, but I'm glad we bounced back in game two," head coach Lance Rhodes said. "We did some good things today, but we have to continue to get better. I'm confident we'll improve tomorrow."
Southern jumped out to 1-0 lead in the opening game, as J.T. Weber singled, stole second and came around to score on an RBI single by Nick Neville. The Tigers took advantage of two SIU errors in the bottom of the third to score three runs.
In the fourth inning, Austin Ulick and Brad Hudson each reached base on singles. Ian Walters brought them home on a double to deep center, which tied the game, 3-3. However, JSU struck with back-to-back triples in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead, 4-3.
The score remained 4-3 until the top of the ninth. Hudson led off the ninth with a walk. Walters hit his second double of the contest to score Hudson, the tying run, from first. The Tigers went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, which brought the game to extras.
SIU threatened in the 10th inning with runners on second and third, but failed to score. Wesley Reyes won the game for JSU in the bottom of the 10th with a walk-off homer over the left-field fence.
Senior pitcher Brad Harrison made the start for the Salukis and was tagged for eight hits and four runs (two earned) in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out the side in the first and finished with five punchouts. Relief pitchers Matthew Steidl and Mitchell Jackson (0-1) shined in relief. The pair pitched a combined 5.2 innings and held JSU scoreless into extras. Jackson received the loss, as he allowed the walk-off home run in the 10th.
In game two, SIU pounded out 19 runs on eight hits. In addition, the Salukis took 22 free passes — 15 walks and seven hits batters. Three of Southern's eight hits went for extra bases. Grey Epps highlighted the bats with a three-run shot in the third. The junior reached base six times — four HBP, one walk and one hit.
The Salukis scored a combined seven runs on passed balls (4), wild pitches (2) and errors (1) committed by the Tigers. Five Salukis scored at least three runs. Addison Fugitt led SIU with a career-best four runs.
Tony Rask, Philip Archer, Epps and Walters tacked RBI hits in the opening three innings to help SIU to a 8-0 lead. JSU scored in four-straight innings to reduce the deficit to one run, 9-8.
SIU clinched the game with a combined 10 runs on two hits in the final two innings. The Salukis drew eight walks, four wild pitches and three passed balls in the span.
Blake Begner (1-0) and Dylan Givens each went four-plus innings on the mound. Begner allowed five earned on eight hits, while Givens allowed three earned on seven hits. The two combined for six strikeouts.
The teams will conclude the series tomorrow at noon.
"We didn't play our best, but I'm glad we bounced back in game two," head coach Lance Rhodes said. "We did some good things today, but we have to continue to get better. I'm confident we'll improve tomorrow."
Southern jumped out to 1-0 lead in the opening game, as J.T. Weber singled, stole second and came around to score on an RBI single by Nick Neville. The Tigers took advantage of two SIU errors in the bottom of the third to score three runs.
In the fourth inning, Austin Ulick and Brad Hudson each reached base on singles. Ian Walters brought them home on a double to deep center, which tied the game, 3-3. However, JSU struck with back-to-back triples in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead, 4-3.
The score remained 4-3 until the top of the ninth. Hudson led off the ninth with a walk. Walters hit his second double of the contest to score Hudson, the tying run, from first. The Tigers went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, which brought the game to extras.
SIU threatened in the 10th inning with runners on second and third, but failed to score. Wesley Reyes won the game for JSU in the bottom of the 10th with a walk-off homer over the left-field fence.
Senior pitcher Brad Harrison made the start for the Salukis and was tagged for eight hits and four runs (two earned) in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out the side in the first and finished with five punchouts. Relief pitchers Matthew Steidl and Mitchell Jackson (0-1) shined in relief. The pair pitched a combined 5.2 innings and held JSU scoreless into extras. Jackson received the loss, as he allowed the walk-off home run in the 10th.
In game two, SIU pounded out 19 runs on eight hits. In addition, the Salukis took 22 free passes — 15 walks and seven hits batters. Three of Southern's eight hits went for extra bases. Grey Epps highlighted the bats with a three-run shot in the third. The junior reached base six times — four HBP, one walk and one hit.
The Salukis scored a combined seven runs on passed balls (4), wild pitches (2) and errors (1) committed by the Tigers. Five Salukis scored at least three runs. Addison Fugitt led SIU with a career-best four runs.
Tony Rask, Philip Archer, Epps and Walters tacked RBI hits in the opening three innings to help SIU to a 8-0 lead. JSU scored in four-straight innings to reduce the deficit to one run, 9-8.
SIU clinched the game with a combined 10 runs on two hits in the final two innings. The Salukis drew eight walks, four wild pitches and three passed balls in the span.
Blake Begner (1-0) and Dylan Givens each went four-plus innings on the mound. Begner allowed five earned on eight hits, while Givens allowed three earned on seven hits. The two combined for six strikeouts.
The teams will conclude the series tomorrow at noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: S. Davila (1-0)
L: Jackson, Mitchell (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Walters, Ian 2 ; Hudson, Brad 1
RBI: Walters, Ian 3 ; Neville, Nick 1
SH: Hudson, Brad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Weber, J.T. 1 ; Hudson, Brad 2 ; Ulick, Austin 1
SB: Weber, J.T. 1 ; Martin, Evan 1
CS: Fugitt, Addison 1
HBP: Weber, J.T. 1
PO: Archer, Philip 1
Batting:
3B: C. Newsome 1 ; C. Dillard 1
HR: W. Reyes 1
RBI: C. Dillard 2 ; J. Williams 1 ; W. Reyes 1
SH: K. Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. Newsome 2 ; C. Prentiss 1 ; W. Reyes 1 ; E. Smith 1
SB: C. Prentiss 1
CS: E. Smith 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
lf/1b
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballInside Saluki Athletics - September 16th
Wednesday, September 17
9.16.25 | Coach Nick Hill Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, September 16
9.8.25 | Saluki Football Highlights - at Purdue
Monday, September 15
9.15.25 | Damien Mayo Jr. with Rodney Watson
Monday, September 15