Friday, February 19
Jacksonville, Ala.
4 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
1-0
8
at
7
Jacksonville State
0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
SIU
1
0
0
3
0
0
4
0
0
8
11
2
Jacksonville State
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
0
0
7
8
0
Salukis open season with 8-7 win at Jacksonville State
02/19/2021 | 7:51:00 | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The SIU baseball team held on for an 8-7 win at Jacksonville State on Opening Day. SIU jumped out to an 8-2 lead, and Trey McDaniel nailed it down with a three-inning save.Â
"It was good to get back out there and play against another team," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "I think we had more nerves than we've had in a long time because of all the anticipation of finally getting to play a game. We had some first-game jitters; but when you can knock out those nerves and win the game at the same time, you'll take it."
SIU (1-0) got its offense going early. Ian Walters led off the game with a single and went first-to-third on Nick Neville's single. With two outs, Neville stole second and beat the tag, allowing Walters to score from third. Seven of SIU's eight runs came with two outs.Â
Vinni Massaglia hit a towering homer to left field in the fourth inning for SIU's only non-two-out RBI. Austin Ulick came through with a clutch two-out, two-run double late in the inning to give SIU a 4-1 lead.Â
Jacksonville State (0-1) answered SIU's first-inning run with an unearned run of their own in the first frame, but that was the only run allowed by SIU starter Mike Hansell, who went 4.2 innings in his SIU debut. When Jacksonville State loaded the bases in the fifth inning, Matthew Steidl came in and got a groundout to end the threat.Â
"For this being his first time out on Friday night, I'm proud of the way he pitched," Rhodes said of Hansell. "His presence on the mound was outstanding. The hits he gave up weren't on hard contact. The only disappointing thing was that his walks were non-competitive walks. To be really competitive on Friday nights, he needs to clean that up. But overall, for a junior college kid in his first start, I thought he handled himself extremely well on a Friday night."
The Salukis blew open the game in the seventh inning with an impressive two-out rally. After two quick outs, Neville and Tristan Peters hit back-to-back singles. Vinni Massaglia drew a walk, and Philip Archer cleared the bases with a double to the right-center gap. Evan Martin drove home Archer on the next pitch with a bloop single.Â
"The biggest at-bat of the inning was that first one by Nick Neville," Rhodes said. "There are two quick outs, and it's so easy to give an AB away in that situation. For him to get it started, then it rolls from there, and it was almost like you couldn't stop it. We had huge hits with two outs all night. AU had a big one. Phil's was a dagger. We preach that the inning is never over, and it's nice to see that put into practice tonight. Those are game-changers."
SIU was outstanding on the mound for most of the night but faltered in the seventh inning. The Salukis started the inning by issuing four-straight walks to bring JSU with 8-3. SIU turned to its bullpen ace Trey McDaniel in a bases-loaded, no-out jam. JSU brought home four more runs on a two-run double, a sac fly and a single to get within 8-7.Â
But McDaniel absolutely dominated from there. He retired seven-straight to end the game, and only one ball left the infield. He went 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth innings against the middle of JSU's order (2-7 hitters). McDaniel didn't issue a walk and tied a career high with five strikeouts, matching his total from last year's win over USC.Â
"He found his groove," Rhodes said. "When he first got out there, his breaking ball was a little flat, but then he looked like Trey we've always seen. He went through the heart of the order with a one-run lead. That's why he's one of the best closers in the country in my opinion. You know what you're gonna get. He's going to make them earn it. It's so comforting to have that guy who pounds the strike zone and has three plus pitches to strike guys out with."
SIU won its season opener for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Salukis were originally slated to play Tennessee Tech this weekend, but weather forced both teams into a four-team round robin hosted by Jacksonville State. SIU and Tennessee Tech will kick off tomorrow's games with an 11 a.m. first pitch against TTU. SIU closes the weekend against Alabama State on Sunday.Â
NOTES: Ian Walters extended hit hitting streak to 16 games, dating back to last season. He extended his reached-base streak to 22 games, dating back to the 2019 season ... Sixteen of the game's 18 starting hitters across both teams reached base at least once ... Both teams went 5-for-14 with two outs (.357) ... McDaniel improved to 20-for-23 in career save opportunities ... SIU has won six-straight games dating back to last season.
Â
"It was good to get back out there and play against another team," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "I think we had more nerves than we've had in a long time because of all the anticipation of finally getting to play a game. We had some first-game jitters; but when you can knock out those nerves and win the game at the same time, you'll take it."
SIU (1-0) got its offense going early. Ian Walters led off the game with a single and went first-to-third on Nick Neville's single. With two outs, Neville stole second and beat the tag, allowing Walters to score from third. Seven of SIU's eight runs came with two outs.Â
Vinni Massaglia hit a towering homer to left field in the fourth inning for SIU's only non-two-out RBI. Austin Ulick came through with a clutch two-out, two-run double late in the inning to give SIU a 4-1 lead.Â
Jacksonville State (0-1) answered SIU's first-inning run with an unearned run of their own in the first frame, but that was the only run allowed by SIU starter Mike Hansell, who went 4.2 innings in his SIU debut. When Jacksonville State loaded the bases in the fifth inning, Matthew Steidl came in and got a groundout to end the threat.Â
"For this being his first time out on Friday night, I'm proud of the way he pitched," Rhodes said of Hansell. "His presence on the mound was outstanding. The hits he gave up weren't on hard contact. The only disappointing thing was that his walks were non-competitive walks. To be really competitive on Friday nights, he needs to clean that up. But overall, for a junior college kid in his first start, I thought he handled himself extremely well on a Friday night."
The Salukis blew open the game in the seventh inning with an impressive two-out rally. After two quick outs, Neville and Tristan Peters hit back-to-back singles. Vinni Massaglia drew a walk, and Philip Archer cleared the bases with a double to the right-center gap. Evan Martin drove home Archer on the next pitch with a bloop single.Â
"The biggest at-bat of the inning was that first one by Nick Neville," Rhodes said. "There are two quick outs, and it's so easy to give an AB away in that situation. For him to get it started, then it rolls from there, and it was almost like you couldn't stop it. We had huge hits with two outs all night. AU had a big one. Phil's was a dagger. We preach that the inning is never over, and it's nice to see that put into practice tonight. Those are game-changers."
SIU was outstanding on the mound for most of the night but faltered in the seventh inning. The Salukis started the inning by issuing four-straight walks to bring JSU with 8-3. SIU turned to its bullpen ace Trey McDaniel in a bases-loaded, no-out jam. JSU brought home four more runs on a two-run double, a sac fly and a single to get within 8-7.Â
But McDaniel absolutely dominated from there. He retired seven-straight to end the game, and only one ball left the infield. He went 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth innings against the middle of JSU's order (2-7 hitters). McDaniel didn't issue a walk and tied a career high with five strikeouts, matching his total from last year's win over USC.Â
"He found his groove," Rhodes said. "When he first got out there, his breaking ball was a little flat, but then he looked like Trey we've always seen. He went through the heart of the order with a one-run lead. That's why he's one of the best closers in the country in my opinion. You know what you're gonna get. He's going to make them earn it. It's so comforting to have that guy who pounds the strike zone and has three plus pitches to strike guys out with."
SIU won its season opener for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Salukis were originally slated to play Tennessee Tech this weekend, but weather forced both teams into a four-team round robin hosted by Jacksonville State. SIU and Tennessee Tech will kick off tomorrow's games with an 11 a.m. first pitch against TTU. SIU closes the weekend against Alabama State on Sunday.Â
NOTES: Ian Walters extended hit hitting streak to 16 games, dating back to last season. He extended his reached-base streak to 22 games, dating back to the 2019 season ... Sixteen of the game's 18 starting hitters across both teams reached base at least once ... Both teams went 5-for-14 with two outs (.357) ... McDaniel improved to 20-for-23 in career save opportunities ... SIU has won six-straight games dating back to last season.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steidl, Matthew (1-0)
L: Christian Edwards (0-1)
S: McDaniel, Trey (1)
Batting:
2B: Archer, Philip 2 ; Ulick, Austin 1
HR: Massaglia, Vinni 1
RBI: Massaglia, Vinni 1 ; Archer, Philip 3 ; Martin, Evan 1 ; Ulick, Austin 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Walters, Ian 1 ; Neville, Nick 1 ; Peters, Tristan 1 ; Massaglia, Vinni 2 ; Archer, Philip 2 ; Epps, Grey 1
SB: Walters, Ian 1 ; Neville, Nick 1 ; Massaglia, Vinni 1 ; Martin, Evan 1
Batting:
2B: Derrick Jackson 1
HR: Carson Crowe 1
RBI: Jaylen Williams 2 ; Derrick Jackson 2 ; Carson Crowe 2 ; Tanner Snow 1
SF: Carson Crowe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tre Kirklin 1 ; Cole Frederick 1 ; Alex Webb 1 ; Alex Strachan 1 ; Jaylen Williams 1 ; Derrick Jackson 1 ; Carson Crowe 1
SB: Tre Kirklin 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball9.18.25 | Drew Steffe with Rodney Watson
Thursday, September 18
9.17.25 | Saluki Radio Football Podcast - SEMO
Wednesday, September 17
Inside Saluki Athletics - September 16th
Wednesday, September 17
9.16.25 | Coach Nick Hill Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, September 16