
Salukis Suffer Setback Against Seattle University
02/23/2020 | 3:36:00 | Baseball
SAN DIEGO – The Southern Illinois University Saluki baseball team suffered a setback against Seattle University in a 9-2 decision on Saturday afternoon in the final game of the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament.
The early advantage favored the Salukis, as Nick Neville singled through the left side to score Ian Walters for his fourth RBI of the year at the top of the first. That would be the only run that Seattle's pitcher Alex McBee would surrender to the Salukis, as he and the Redhawks would pitch four consecutive shutout innings to keep the Salukis at bay.
Seattle did a majority of its damage in the first inning, scoring five of its nine runs out of the gate. Starting pitcher Blake Begner struggled in his second start of the season, giving up five earned runs before being replaced by Matthew Steidl one out into the first inning. Steidl managed to escape the inning with only surrendering a hit and a walk but was able to keep the Redhawks off the scoreboard.
Seattle plated their sixth run of the game in the second and three more in the fifth to jump out to a 9-1 lead. The Salukis (4-4) responded by scoring their second run of the game in the sixth inning off of Seattle's Tyler Yeh when Sam Hojnar singled to left center, scoring JT Weber. Tony Rask would later ground out to short, stranding two men on base.
The pitchers allowed season-highs in runs (9) and doubles (3), while tying a season-high in hits allowed (15). With the loss, Begner falls to 1-1 on the year.
The Salukis will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 25 to take on Murray State. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The early advantage favored the Salukis, as Nick Neville singled through the left side to score Ian Walters for his fourth RBI of the year at the top of the first. That would be the only run that Seattle's pitcher Alex McBee would surrender to the Salukis, as he and the Redhawks would pitch four consecutive shutout innings to keep the Salukis at bay.
Seattle did a majority of its damage in the first inning, scoring five of its nine runs out of the gate. Starting pitcher Blake Begner struggled in his second start of the season, giving up five earned runs before being replaced by Matthew Steidl one out into the first inning. Steidl managed to escape the inning with only surrendering a hit and a walk but was able to keep the Redhawks off the scoreboard.
Seattle plated their sixth run of the game in the second and three more in the fifth to jump out to a 9-1 lead. The Salukis (4-4) responded by scoring their second run of the game in the sixth inning off of Seattle's Tyler Yeh when Sam Hojnar singled to left center, scoring JT Weber. Tony Rask would later ground out to short, stranding two men on base.
The pitchers allowed season-highs in runs (9) and doubles (3), while tying a season-high in hits allowed (15). With the loss, Begner falls to 1-1 on the year.
The Salukis will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 25 to take on Murray State. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McBee, Alex (1-0)
L: Begner, Blake (1-1)

Batting:
RBI: Neville, Nick 1 ; Hojnar, Sam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walters, Ian 1 ; Weber, J.T. 1
CS: Weber, J.T. 1
HBP: Ulick, Austin 1
PO: Gray, Jake 1

Batting:
2B: O'Brien, Connor 1 ; Mazzone, Justin 1 ; Heiser, Grant 1
RBI: Rork, Gavin 1 ; O'Brien, Connor 1 ; Mazzone, Justin 1 ; Jekich, N 1 ; Kodama, Julian 1 ; Maningo, Drake 2 ; Heiser, Grant 2
SF: Heiser, Grant 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rork, Gavin 1 ; O'Brien, Connor 1 ; Mazzone, Justin 1 ; Jekich, N 1 ; Kodama, Julian 1 ; Maningo, Drake 1 ; Wells, Chase 1 ; Heiser, Grant 1 ; Antonson, Trevor 1
SB: O'Brien, Connor 1
HBP: Rork, Gavin 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
10.15.25 | Saluki Radio Football Podcast - North Dakota
Thursday, October 16
John & Karyn Forbes - Big Dawg Leadership Society
Wednesday, October 15
Inside Saluki Athletics - October 14th
Wednesday, October 15
10.14.25 | Coach Nick Hill Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, October 14