Looking back | Baseball's 2020 win over USC - Southern Illinois University Athletics

SIU started the 2020 season by winning three of four games at Jackson State. The second weekend of the year was one of the highest profile weekend series in recent years: The Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament in San Diego, California. SIU opened the weekend against Arizona, who was ranked in the top-20 nationally. Against the Wildcats, SIU stormed out to a 5-1 lead before falling, 6-5. Up next: a matchup against Southern California.

Here are reactions from some of the SIU players and coaches involved in that game. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. Editor's notes are in italics.

Brad Harrison, pitcher: "It was a weekend we knew we could show what Saluki Baseball is all about, and the level we knew we could compete at."

Lance Rhodes, head coach: "When you look at Arizona, that was the best offensive team we played all season, and our pitchers did a great job of keeping us right there. We had opportunities to win. Of the six losses we had on the year, there were five of them that we did things that cost us the game. We preached all season, if we were going to lose, we wanted to make the other team earn it. That's what Arizona did. You tip your hat when that happens. But when you play that well against one of the best teams in the country, it gives you confidence to know that you can play with anybody."

Harrison, who was SIU's starting pitcher against USC: "Arizona was a good team, don't get me wrong. But there's not that big of a gap between us and the Pac-12 teams. (Ed. note: 2019 conference RPI ranks: Pac-12 #4, MVC #6). We knew we could play at that level. I thought we would have a good chance to win if I could pitch the way I know how to."

Ian Walters, third baseman: "We had a lot of confidence in the way we were playing. We had a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. We were having a lot of fun. Everyone was doing their part."

Harrison: "For me, it doesn't matter who we play. The week before, at Jackson State, I put too much pressure on myself. I didn't relax and have fun. I had some shoulder issues, so I didn't throw in the fall. I didn't make all my starts last year. Going into the USC game, my focus was on relaxing and having fun, not that we were playing USC."

Austin Ulick, catcher: "Our mindset was, 'We're going to beat this team.' Especially with Brad on the mound. He's a veteran. We just have to play. The better team that day was going to win, and we were going to be the better team."

Walters: "They were just another team on the schedule. It didn't matter the name on their chest. We knew that if we played well, we were going to win."

Rhodes: "When you talk about the maturity of our team, it was a deciding moment when our guys got over the hump of, 'Can we win this type of game?' Instead, our guys were determined to win it."

Harrison: "I felt really good. The warm weather made a difference. I remember telling Mason (Hiser) before the game, 'Do you ever have that feeling where you feel really good about today?' Mason said, 'I felt like that yesterday.' I knew that I was confident and relaxed. I wasn't trying to do more than I was capable of because I knew that my stuff was going to be good enough to get the job done."

Harrison: "I was missing barrels for the most part, but one guy in the first inning really smoked a lineout to center. But I knew if I could change speeds and get in on their hands, they would get themselves out."

While Harrison was rolling on the mound, SIU's offense got traffic on the bases but hit into bad luck — the Salukis hit into hard-hit double plays twice in the first three innings. In the third inning, J.T. Weber came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out and scorched a line drive, but it was a foot short of getting over the USC shortstop's head for a bases-clearing double. Instead, it was a lineout double play.

Nick Magnifico, hitting coach: "We did a really good job offensively of putting together good at-bats. That didn't translate to runs early."

Walters: "Coach Mags had prepared us really well. We knew they would be working away to us, and we didn't try to do too much. I knew that if I got on base, the guys behind me would do the job. Brad Hudson had a big game and was locked in the entire time."

Rhodes: "We hammered the ball all over the field and had baserunners, but we had some tough luck. We hit into two double plays on balls that were absolutely crushed. You're kind of worried as a coach that things just weren't going our way that day. But our guys hung in there. The one thing we talked about during that game was that we weren't worried about the name on the other team's jersey. If we played a good game, we were capable of beating anyone in the country, and our guys did a great job of not getting caught up in the moment."

Magnifico: "We had a bases-loaded flyout to the warning track, that their center fielder ran down in the gap. We hit a lineout double play with the bases loaded. We could have scored more early."

Ulick: "The biggest moment of the game was in the fourth inning. It's a scoreless game but I'm pretty sure they had the bases loaded with one out. Ian Walters dropped a pop up in foul territory, and Brad just shrugged it off."

Magnifico: "It was very un-Ian Walters-like. But Brad's exact words were, 'Hey, man, don't worry about it. I'll pick you up. I pick you up; you pick me up; that's what we do,' and he pitched his way out of the jam. That's pretty big-time."

Tim Jamieson, pitching coach: "That could have been a momentum-switcher at that point in time, but Brad didn't let it happen."

Ulick: "The next time Ian was up, he doubled, and he ended up scoring to give us the lead. That was a great moment."

Walters hit a one-out double in the fifth inning, and Brad Hudson, who went 3-for-4 in the game behind Walters, drove him home to give SIU a 1-0 lead.

Rhodes: "If we're a team just hoping to win, we probably don't come through in that moment. We think our chance has been lost. But the fact that our guys had gotten out of that mentality and realized that we will win if we play nine good innings, that's how we beat a team like USC when things haven't been going your way."

Harrison: "I was still having some problems with my shoulder, so I actually told Coach Jamieson after the fourth inning to have someone ready. I didn't feel good in the fifth. My velo was probably way down, which actually may have helped me have a quick inning. But I was OK coming out because I knew we had Mitchell Jackson and Trey McDaniel coming in after me."

Rhodes: "Day after day, our pitchers kept us in games. After awhile, you realize that it's not just about having their A-game that day; it's just who they are. They're really good."

Freshman Mitchell Jackson (Marion, Ill.) relieved Harrison. SIU committed an error to the leadoff hitter, but Jackson limited the USC damage to just the one unearned run, with McDaniel finishing off the inning.

Jamieson: "There was confidence (in Jackson) because of what he had done at Jackson State. He didn't just hold his own—he dominated a really good offense." (Ed note: Jackson State hit .315 as a team in 2019, fourth-best in the nation. Mitchell Jackson struck out five over 3.2 innings against them.)

Rhodes: "Mitchell Jackson is a freshman who is going to be a really good pitcher in our program, but that's a pressure moment really early in the season, and he stepped up and met the moment."

With the score tied, 1-1, in the middle of the sixth inning, SIU re-took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. J.T. Weber drew a leadoff walk and came all the way around to score on two wild pitches and a passed ball to give SIU a 2-1 lead.

Walters: "When that happened, I knew we would win. We weren't going to back down."

Magnifico: "We had good at-bats early without much success, but you could say the baseball gods took care of us. We took the lead on a passed ball. Maybe that ball bounced over the catcher because we lined out 47 times."

SIU added an insurance run in the seventh inning when Walters hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a Hudson fly out. He scored on a passed ball to give SIU a 3-1 lead. With Trey McDaniel designated as the team's 'Stopper,' he pitched the final 10 outs, striking out five.

Jamieson: "I've told Trey countless times that he's the best closer in the country. There's nobody we would rather have out there."

Harrison: "When Trey went in, you knew that their offense was done. He had that effect on teams this year."

Ulick: "I call pitches for Trey, and we're always on the same page. Coach J always tells us, 'You've got this. Take the reins and bring home a win.' Our plan is: We don't care who you are. We're coming after you. Trey is just Trey. He's tough to hit. He's a winner."

Jamieson: "He had to go against the better part of their lineup for a second time at the end of his pitch limit. But Trey is not going to back down. He still had really good stuff in the ninth inning."

McDaniel nailed down the win, SIU's first win over a Pac-12 school since 1975. In hindsight, the win over USC looks just as good as it seemed at the time; after its loss to SIU, USC went on to beat San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton, TCU, and Vanderbilt, among others, prior to the season being cut short.

Rhodes: "When you talk about the maturity of our team, it was a deciding moment when our guys got over the hump of, 'Can we win this type of game?' Instead, our guys were going to win it."

Jamieson: "We didn't celebrate that win any more than any other win. Personally, I thought that was a really good sign."

Magnifico: "I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but when I think of that game, it was just another win for us. We want to get our program to where we play with teams like Arizona and USC like it's just another game. We thought we were going to win. I don't know if anyone else in the country did besides our players and coaching staff, but nobody else matters. So when you beat them, it's a cool experience and a good win for the program obviously, but it's just a win. It's the same way Arizona or USC would look at it if they beat us."

Ulick: "After that game, I feel like we became more of a team. We weren't relying on just a few guys. The bottom of the order would pick guys up; the bullpen would get us out of jams. Our mentality was great."

Starting with that win over USC, SIU won nine of its final 12 games to end the season, including five in a row at the end. The Salukis won a series at Morehead State, handing the Eagles a home series loss for the first time in over a year. SIU completed a sweep of Northern Illinois with two walk-off wins, end ended the year with a win over SEMO, who had won seven-straight games.

Jamieson: "Those two walk-off wins against Northern Illinois were great, and that last win was against a SEMO team with a very dangerous lineup. That speaks to the character of the team."

Magnifico: "If you take the Arizona game, we were up 5-1 and they chipped away, 5-2, 5-4, 5-5. It felt like we were trying to hold on. Fast forward to the end of the year. Coach (Kirby) McGuire brought this up the other day: Our second-to-last game against Northern Illinois, we gave up the lead in the top of the ninth and were down one, but our guys came into the dugout loose and laughing, ready to go win the game in our half of the ninth, which we did. Kirby said, 'That's when I knew we were going to be a good team.' We were down with three outs to go, and everyone knew we were going to win. We were fine."

Harrison: "I was really happy about the growth we showed this season. It sucks (the season being cut short) because we were excited about what we were going to be able to do this year. But maybe better yet: we get to see what we're able to do next year."

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Looking back | Baseball's 2020 win over USC

Players Mentioned

Brad Harrison

Brad Hudson

Mitchell Jackson

Trey McDaniel

Austin Ulick

Ian Walters

J.T. Weber

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