Saturday, March 27
Carbondale, Ill.
2 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
19-2
5
vs
11
Little Rock
10-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Little Rock
0
1
0
1
1
0
2
0
6
11
15
0
SIU
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
2
5
11
1
Little Rock evens series, tops #22 SIU 11-5
03/27/2021 | 8:48:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Little Rock took down the No. 22-ranked SIU baseball team 11-5 on Saturday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Trojans evened the series at a game apiece, and the rubber game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.Â
"It was closer than the score showed, but we didn't really play good baseball," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "The message at the end of the day was: It doesn't matter the opponent in the other dugout; it's about how we play the game. When we play bad, we can be beaten. When we play well, we have a good chance to win. We didn't play good enough to win today. We showed good fight in the seventh and eighth innings to get ourselves into the game; we just didn't play well enough today."
Little Rock (10-8) led wire-to-wire, but the game was close until the ninth inning. The Trojans got single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings before Evan Martin got SIU (19-2) on the board with a solo homer in the sixth. Little Rock added two runs in the seventh to lead 5-1 before the high-powered Salukis nearly turned the game upside down in the eighth inning.Â
Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Grey Epps led off the inning with a double and Ian Walters drove him home with a single to get SIU within 5-2. SIU loaded the bases with no outs, and pushed home another run when Vinni Massaglia was hit by a pitch. With the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first, Trojan reliever Cole Evans induced a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the threat.Â
"If we can just take one out instead of two there, we still have a chance to keep the inning moving," Rhodes said. "At that point, it felt like all of our eggs were in one basket. We needed to either tie the game or take the lead in order to give ourselves a chance. It was the theme of the day. We just didn't come up with a hit, or we didn't come up with a pitch, or we didn't come up with a play at any point when we needed to. When you look back at it, we've played 21 games. We've played 19 good games, and we've won. We've played two bad games, and we've lost. You have to give the other team credit. They force you to play bad sometimes. They played well, but we need to think about ourselves and not worry about the opponent. We didn't play good enough baseball."
Similar to Friday night's series opener, when J.T. Weber's defensive play -- he threw out a runner at the plate -- opened the floodgates for SIU's offense, which scored three runs in the next half-inning to win 10-7, the double play opened things up for Little Rock's offense. The Trojans scored six runs in the top of the ninth to turn a 5-3 nailbiter into an 11-3 lead. The Salukis scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to set the final score at 11-5.Â
Little Rock starter Hayden Arnold was outstanding. Facing an SIU offense that came into the weekend ranked in the top-five nationally in most offensive categories, Arnold went six innings and allowed just one run, Martin's homer. He scattered six other hits, all singles, and didn't issue a walk.Â
"He threw really well. He executed a game plan," Rhodes said of Arnold. "You have to tip your hat. We're going to face good arms. Little Rock is a good team. We have a good opportunity to come out tomorrow and win a series against a really good team. That's exactly the spot we want to be in."
In a matchup of opponents in two of the top-10 conferences in the country by RPI (MVC #6, Sun Belt #9), SIU and Little Rock both have sights set on competing at the top of their respective leagues. Little Rock is playing its best baseball of the season and has won 9 of its last 13 games, including a win against Auburn and a series sweep of preseason Sun Belt West favorites Texas State. SIU lost for just the second time this season.Â
"When you play a good team and they lose on Friday night, you're going to get a good game from them on Saturday," Rhodes said. "We knew that they're super-competitive and they're going to play really hard. We know that they're good, but we're good, too. We just didn't play well today. I'll be shocked if we don't come out and play well tomorrow."
UP NEXT:Â The rubber game in the series is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Brad Harrison will take the mound for SIU.Â
NOTES: Evan Martin extended his hitting streak to eight games and reached base streak to 12 games. Martin went 3-for-4 with a walk ... Despite the loss, SIU is 12-2 at home this season and 17-2 at home under head coach Lance Rhodes. The Salukis are 48-15 in their last 63 home games, dating back to 2018 ... Dylan Givens' streak of 16.1 consecutive scoreless innings, which dated back to last year, was snapped ... SIU fell to 2-1 all-time vs. Little Rock. The only prior meeting between the programs before Friday was a 2-0 SIU win in 2002 ... SIU is 24-2 in its last 26 games, dating back to last year ... SIU is ranked No. 22 nationally by Collegiate Baseball ... Tony Rask, who was hit in the helmet by a pitch in the ninth inning and was assisted off the field, was walking around after the game and assuring concerned friends and family members he is OK.Â
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"It was closer than the score showed, but we didn't really play good baseball," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "The message at the end of the day was: It doesn't matter the opponent in the other dugout; it's about how we play the game. When we play bad, we can be beaten. When we play well, we have a good chance to win. We didn't play good enough to win today. We showed good fight in the seventh and eighth innings to get ourselves into the game; we just didn't play well enough today."
Little Rock (10-8) led wire-to-wire, but the game was close until the ninth inning. The Trojans got single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings before Evan Martin got SIU (19-2) on the board with a solo homer in the sixth. Little Rock added two runs in the seventh to lead 5-1 before the high-powered Salukis nearly turned the game upside down in the eighth inning.Â
Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Grey Epps led off the inning with a double and Ian Walters drove him home with a single to get SIU within 5-2. SIU loaded the bases with no outs, and pushed home another run when Vinni Massaglia was hit by a pitch. With the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first, Trojan reliever Cole Evans induced a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the threat.Â
"If we can just take one out instead of two there, we still have a chance to keep the inning moving," Rhodes said. "At that point, it felt like all of our eggs were in one basket. We needed to either tie the game or take the lead in order to give ourselves a chance. It was the theme of the day. We just didn't come up with a hit, or we didn't come up with a pitch, or we didn't come up with a play at any point when we needed to. When you look back at it, we've played 21 games. We've played 19 good games, and we've won. We've played two bad games, and we've lost. You have to give the other team credit. They force you to play bad sometimes. They played well, but we need to think about ourselves and not worry about the opponent. We didn't play good enough baseball."
Similar to Friday night's series opener, when J.T. Weber's defensive play -- he threw out a runner at the plate -- opened the floodgates for SIU's offense, which scored three runs in the next half-inning to win 10-7, the double play opened things up for Little Rock's offense. The Trojans scored six runs in the top of the ninth to turn a 5-3 nailbiter into an 11-3 lead. The Salukis scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to set the final score at 11-5.Â
Little Rock starter Hayden Arnold was outstanding. Facing an SIU offense that came into the weekend ranked in the top-five nationally in most offensive categories, Arnold went six innings and allowed just one run, Martin's homer. He scattered six other hits, all singles, and didn't issue a walk.Â
"He threw really well. He executed a game plan," Rhodes said of Arnold. "You have to tip your hat. We're going to face good arms. Little Rock is a good team. We have a good opportunity to come out tomorrow and win a series against a really good team. That's exactly the spot we want to be in."
In a matchup of opponents in two of the top-10 conferences in the country by RPI (MVC #6, Sun Belt #9), SIU and Little Rock both have sights set on competing at the top of their respective leagues. Little Rock is playing its best baseball of the season and has won 9 of its last 13 games, including a win against Auburn and a series sweep of preseason Sun Belt West favorites Texas State. SIU lost for just the second time this season.Â
"When you play a good team and they lose on Friday night, you're going to get a good game from them on Saturday," Rhodes said. "We knew that they're super-competitive and they're going to play really hard. We know that they're good, but we're good, too. We just didn't play well today. I'll be shocked if we don't come out and play well tomorrow."
UP NEXT:Â The rubber game in the series is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Brad Harrison will take the mound for SIU.Â
NOTES: Evan Martin extended his hitting streak to eight games and reached base streak to 12 games. Martin went 3-for-4 with a walk ... Despite the loss, SIU is 12-2 at home this season and 17-2 at home under head coach Lance Rhodes. The Salukis are 48-15 in their last 63 home games, dating back to 2018 ... Dylan Givens' streak of 16.1 consecutive scoreless innings, which dated back to last year, was snapped ... SIU fell to 2-1 all-time vs. Little Rock. The only prior meeting between the programs before Friday was a 2-0 SIU win in 2002 ... SIU is 24-2 in its last 26 games, dating back to last year ... SIU is ranked No. 22 nationally by Collegiate Baseball ... Tony Rask, who was hit in the helmet by a pitch in the ninth inning and was assisted off the field, was walking around after the game and assuring concerned friends and family members he is OK.Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Arnold, Hayden (3-2)
L: Chapman, Ben (5-1)
Batting:
2B: Hussein, Jorden 1 ; Williams, Tyler 2 ; Dickerson, Noah 1 ; Barnum, Kobe 1
RBI: Hussein, Jorden 3 ; Williams, Tyler 4 ; Russ, John Michael 1 ; Dickerson, Noah 1 ; Barnum, Kobe 1 ; Figueroa, Eldrige 1
SH: Lyons, Nathan 1
SF: Williams, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lyons, Nathan 2 ; Hussein, Jorden 2 ; Williams, Tyler 2 ; Russ, John Michael 1 ; Dickerson, Noah 1 ; Rodriguez, Kenny 2 ; Figueroa, Eldrige 1
HBP: Figueroa, Eldrige 1
Batting:
2B: Epps, Grey 1
3B: Blubaugh, Nick 1
HR: Martin, Evan 1
RBI: Walters, Ian 2 ; Martin, Evan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Walters, Ian 1 ; Martin, Evan 1 ; Blubaugh, Nick 1 ; Bunnell, Adam 1 ; Epps, Grey 1
CS: Walters, Ian 1
HBP: Massaglia, Vinni 1 ; Rask, Tony 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
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