Saturday, February 22
San Diego, Calif.
3 p.m. CT
Southern Illinois University
4-3
3
vs
1
USC
3-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
USC
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
4
0
Southern Illinois
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
X
3
7
1
Salukis Earn Marquee Win Over USC
02/22/2020 | 7:00:00 | Baseball
SAN DIEGO – For the first time in the regular season in program history, the Southern Illinois University Saluki baseball team defeated the USC Trojans 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Saturday.
The series has a short but rich history. Before today's game, the Salukis and Trojans met five times with each game coming in the College World Series. USC won four of those five meetings, with the only Saluki win coming in the 1971 CWS.
The Salukis managed to get their bats going early but couldn't reap many benefits from doing so. Over the course of the first three innings, the Salukis connected on four hits and had a few balls that could've had some serious scoring potential but came up as outs against Southern.
At the bottom of the first, Brad Hudson singled to center field to get on base. A few pitches later, Hudson stole second to get into scoring position. An out later, J.T. Weber got on base by way of a walk. Philip Archer then connected on a ball that fell just a few feet short of going the distance. Instead, his shot was caught for the final out of the inning.
At the bottom of the third, Austin Ulick singled to right before getting thrown out as Ian Walters reached first on a fielder's choice. Hudson then collected his second hit of the day on a double to left, advancing Walters to third. With runners in scoring position, Weber came up to bat and hit the ball with power, but unfortunately lined out into a double play to end the inning.
"You look at the adversity we had throughout the game," said head coach Lance Rhodes. "The first four innings, we were putting barrels on the ball consistently and we had absolutely nothing to show for it. J.T. Weber hits into a double play off of a ball that he absolutely crushed and then hits one to the track on another one. Philip Archer hit one to the track that I thought was going to be a home run. It just seemed like we were in situations to really blow the game open and then we just couldn't catch a break."
The Salukis wouldn't have to wait much longer before seeing a result from their eager bats, as Southern scored at the bottom of the fifth off of Hudson's third hit of the game, an RBI single to right center that scored Walters.
Brad Harrison received the starting nod and pitched a clean five innings, striking out four to help keep the Saluki lead at 1-0. Mitchell Jackson came in as relief for Harrison and faced danger early, as USC got on him by scoring off of an RBI single up the middle to even the score at 1-1.
After two-thirds of an inning, junior Trey McDaniel replaced Jackson en route to getting the final out of the inning off of a pop up to third. At the bottom of the sixth, Weber walked before advancing to second and third on wild pitches. Weber would then score a few pitches later on a passed ball to bring the advantage back to the Salukis, 2-1.
McDaniel would then go three up and three down at the top of the seventh, striking out one. SIU scored its third run of the game at the bottom of the seventh off of a wild pitch that scored Walters from third. McDaniel stayed in the rest of the game and came up big in clutch moments, leaving three runners on base over the course of the seventh and eighth innings to secure the win, his first of the season.
"Harrison got us off to a good start on the mound," said Rhodes. "Mitchell Jackson got a few huge outs in the middle and then Trey McDaniel comes in and does what he did over three-plus innings, which was huge."
In all, the three Saluki pitchers totaled nine strikeouts, including four by starting pitcher Brad Harrison. The staff didn't allow an earned run throughout the entirety of the game.
The Salukis wrap up the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament on Sunday with a 10 a.m. (12 p.m. CT) matchup against Seattle University.
The series has a short but rich history. Before today's game, the Salukis and Trojans met five times with each game coming in the College World Series. USC won four of those five meetings, with the only Saluki win coming in the 1971 CWS.
The Salukis managed to get their bats going early but couldn't reap many benefits from doing so. Over the course of the first three innings, the Salukis connected on four hits and had a few balls that could've had some serious scoring potential but came up as outs against Southern.
At the bottom of the first, Brad Hudson singled to center field to get on base. A few pitches later, Hudson stole second to get into scoring position. An out later, J.T. Weber got on base by way of a walk. Philip Archer then connected on a ball that fell just a few feet short of going the distance. Instead, his shot was caught for the final out of the inning.
At the bottom of the third, Austin Ulick singled to right before getting thrown out as Ian Walters reached first on a fielder's choice. Hudson then collected his second hit of the day on a double to left, advancing Walters to third. With runners in scoring position, Weber came up to bat and hit the ball with power, but unfortunately lined out into a double play to end the inning.
"You look at the adversity we had throughout the game," said head coach Lance Rhodes. "The first four innings, we were putting barrels on the ball consistently and we had absolutely nothing to show for it. J.T. Weber hits into a double play off of a ball that he absolutely crushed and then hits one to the track on another one. Philip Archer hit one to the track that I thought was going to be a home run. It just seemed like we were in situations to really blow the game open and then we just couldn't catch a break."
The Salukis wouldn't have to wait much longer before seeing a result from their eager bats, as Southern scored at the bottom of the fifth off of Hudson's third hit of the game, an RBI single to right center that scored Walters.
Brad Harrison received the starting nod and pitched a clean five innings, striking out four to help keep the Saluki lead at 1-0. Mitchell Jackson came in as relief for Harrison and faced danger early, as USC got on him by scoring off of an RBI single up the middle to even the score at 1-1.
After two-thirds of an inning, junior Trey McDaniel replaced Jackson en route to getting the final out of the inning off of a pop up to third. At the bottom of the sixth, Weber walked before advancing to second and third on wild pitches. Weber would then score a few pitches later on a passed ball to bring the advantage back to the Salukis, 2-1.
McDaniel would then go three up and three down at the top of the seventh, striking out one. SIU scored its third run of the game at the bottom of the seventh off of a wild pitch that scored Walters from third. McDaniel stayed in the rest of the game and came up big in clutch moments, leaving three runners on base over the course of the seventh and eighth innings to secure the win, his first of the season.
"Harrison got us off to a good start on the mound," said Rhodes. "Mitchell Jackson got a few huge outs in the middle and then Trey McDaniel comes in and does what he did over three-plus innings, which was huge."
In all, the three Saluki pitchers totaled nine strikeouts, including four by starting pitcher Brad Harrison. The staff didn't allow an earned run throughout the entirety of the game.
The Salukis wrap up the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament on Sunday with a 10 a.m. (12 p.m. CT) matchup against Seattle University.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McDaniel, Trey (1-0)
L: Esqueda, I. (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Wanger, B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: O'Guinn, J. 1
CS: Lozano, T. 1
Batting:
2B: Walters, Ian 2 ; Hudson, Brad 1
RBI: Hudson, Brad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walters, Ian 2 ; Weber, J.T. 1
SB: Hudson, Brad 1 ; Epps, Grey 1 ; Fugitt, Addison 1
CS: Hudson, Brad 1
HBP: Danielewicz, Lucas 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
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