Friday, March 5
Carbondale, Ill.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
9-0
14
vs
7
UT Martin
3-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Tennessee-Martin
1
1
0
2
0
0
3
0
0
7
14
2
Southern Illinois
0
4
1
0
3
1
0
5
X
14
15
1
Photo by: Will Becque
Salukis take series opener from UT Martin, 14-7
03/05/2021 | 6:34:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The SIU baseball team ran its winning streak to 14 games with a 14-7 win over UT Martin on Friday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Salukis improved to 9-0 on the season and have won 14-straight games dating back to last year, the second-longest active winning streak in the nation.Â
"The bats are still rolling, and that's what carried us today," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "(SIU starting pitcher) Mike (Hansell) was struggling with his control, but he was able to battle and get through five innings and allowed us to shorten up our bullpen. It helps when you have an offense behind you that's swinging the bats hot. We relied on them. Credit to UT Martin. They swung the bats extremely well today."
UT Martin came into the weekend red-hot, winners of three-straight games, including handing #22 Alabama its lone loss. And the Skyhawks were good again today. They took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second innings. SIU immediately answered with a four-run bottom of the second; but every time SIU would put some separation in the score, UT Martin would answer right back.Â
"We didn't score early, but we stung two balls right away in the first inning. We came out the gates swinging it well," Rhodes said. "We put up four in the second. We feel pretty comfortable with the way we're swinging the bats. We need to shore up some things. We came out a little sloppy. We made a blunder defensively. We need to clean up those things."
SIU led 5-2 after three, but UTM scored two in the fourth. SIU led 9-4 after six, but UTM scored three in the seventh. The Skyhawks were within striking distance until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Nick Neville hit a towering three-run homer that give SIU a 12-7 lead. Vinni Massaglia, who hit a three-run homer earlier in the game, followed Neville's bomb with an RBI double, and the Salukis added one more unearned run after a passed ball to set the final score at 14-7.Â
"(Neville) swung the bat really well yesterday in batting practice," Rhodes said. "He made one small adjustment, and everything clicked. It looked just like it had. I felt really good about him coming into the day, and he had a really great day. It was typical to what he's been doing."
SIU has officially gone one year between losses. The Salukis lost on March 4, 2020, to Austin Peay, and then rattled off five-straight wins before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. Now, the Salukis have piled up nine-straight wins to start the 2021 season.Â
"There isn't pressure with the streak. It's about coming out and playing really good baseball. If we do that, hopefully the streak will continue," Rhodes said. "It's been a long time since we've felt what it's like to lose, going all the way back to last year. I don't mind not having that feeling; I can tell you that. We can be beaten on any given day, and we can win on any given day. It's about how we show up. If we show up and play really good baseball, it doesn't matter who's in the other dugout. We have enough talent to win on any given day against anybody."
UP NEXT: SIU will try to clinch the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Brad Harrison will take the mound for SIU.Â
NOTES: SIU's 9-0 start is the second-best in program history (the 1967 Salukis started 11-0) ... SIU has won 14-straight games dating back to last season, the program's longest winning streak since the 1990 Salukis went on a 16-game winning streak ... SIU's 14-game winning streak is the second-longest active winning streak in the nation (Navy has won 18-straight games) ... Entering the weekend, SIU was one of 13 undefeated teams in the nation ... SIU is 8-0 at Itchy Jones Stadium under head coach Lance Rhodes (5-0 last year, 3-0 this year) ... SIU is 39-13 in its last 52 home games overall ... Ian Walters extended his reached base streak to 30 games, which dates back to late in the 2019 season ... Philip Archer extended his reached base streak to 20 games, which dates back to last season ... Archer and Tristan Peters each had three hits. Archer and Peters each have six multi-hit games already this season ... Saluki Softball also won (twice) today and improved to 11-0. SIU softball has won 20-straight games, and SIU baseball has won 14-straight games, with both streaks dating back to last season ... With Stetson's loss earlier today, no team in America has more wins without a loss than the 9-0 Salukis.Â
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"The bats are still rolling, and that's what carried us today," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "(SIU starting pitcher) Mike (Hansell) was struggling with his control, but he was able to battle and get through five innings and allowed us to shorten up our bullpen. It helps when you have an offense behind you that's swinging the bats hot. We relied on them. Credit to UT Martin. They swung the bats extremely well today."
UT Martin came into the weekend red-hot, winners of three-straight games, including handing #22 Alabama its lone loss. And the Skyhawks were good again today. They took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second innings. SIU immediately answered with a four-run bottom of the second; but every time SIU would put some separation in the score, UT Martin would answer right back.Â
"We didn't score early, but we stung two balls right away in the first inning. We came out the gates swinging it well," Rhodes said. "We put up four in the second. We feel pretty comfortable with the way we're swinging the bats. We need to shore up some things. We came out a little sloppy. We made a blunder defensively. We need to clean up those things."
SIU led 5-2 after three, but UTM scored two in the fourth. SIU led 9-4 after six, but UTM scored three in the seventh. The Skyhawks were within striking distance until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Nick Neville hit a towering three-run homer that give SIU a 12-7 lead. Vinni Massaglia, who hit a three-run homer earlier in the game, followed Neville's bomb with an RBI double, and the Salukis added one more unearned run after a passed ball to set the final score at 14-7.Â
"(Neville) swung the bat really well yesterday in batting practice," Rhodes said. "He made one small adjustment, and everything clicked. It looked just like it had. I felt really good about him coming into the day, and he had a really great day. It was typical to what he's been doing."
SIU has officially gone one year between losses. The Salukis lost on March 4, 2020, to Austin Peay, and then rattled off five-straight wins before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. Now, the Salukis have piled up nine-straight wins to start the 2021 season.Â
"There isn't pressure with the streak. It's about coming out and playing really good baseball. If we do that, hopefully the streak will continue," Rhodes said. "It's been a long time since we've felt what it's like to lose, going all the way back to last year. I don't mind not having that feeling; I can tell you that. We can be beaten on any given day, and we can win on any given day. It's about how we show up. If we show up and play really good baseball, it doesn't matter who's in the other dugout. We have enough talent to win on any given day against anybody."
UP NEXT: SIU will try to clinch the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Brad Harrison will take the mound for SIU.Â
NOTES: SIU's 9-0 start is the second-best in program history (the 1967 Salukis started 11-0) ... SIU has won 14-straight games dating back to last season, the program's longest winning streak since the 1990 Salukis went on a 16-game winning streak ... SIU's 14-game winning streak is the second-longest active winning streak in the nation (Navy has won 18-straight games) ... Entering the weekend, SIU was one of 13 undefeated teams in the nation ... SIU is 8-0 at Itchy Jones Stadium under head coach Lance Rhodes (5-0 last year, 3-0 this year) ... SIU is 39-13 in its last 52 home games overall ... Ian Walters extended his reached base streak to 30 games, which dates back to late in the 2019 season ... Philip Archer extended his reached base streak to 20 games, which dates back to last season ... Archer and Tristan Peters each had three hits. Archer and Peters each have six multi-hit games already this season ... Saluki Softball also won (twice) today and improved to 11-0. SIU softball has won 20-straight games, and SIU baseball has won 14-straight games, with both streaks dating back to last season ... With Stetson's loss earlier today, no team in America has more wins without a loss than the 9-0 Salukis.Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hansell, Mike (2-0)
L: CANNON (1-2)
Batting:
3B: SMITH, W. 1
HR: HALL 1
RBI: HARFORD 1 ; HALL 2 ; DANIELS 2
SH: DAVIS 1
SF: HARFORD 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SMITH, W. 1 ; HARFORD 1 ; HALL 1 ; WRIGHT 1 ; LAFOLLETTE 2 ; DANIELS 1
Batting:
2B: Massaglia, Vinni 1 ; Cleveland, Cody 1
HR: Neville, Nick 2 ; Massaglia, Vinni 1
RBI: Neville, Nick 4 ; Peters, Tristan 1 ; Massaglia, Vinni 4 ; Cleveland, Cody 2 ; Ulick, Austin 1
SF: Ulick, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walters, Ian 2 ; Martin, Evan 1 ; Neville, Nick 3 ; Peters, Tristan 2 ; Massaglia, Vinni 3 ; Archer, Philip 1 ; Weber, J.T. 1 ; Cleveland, Cody 1
SB: Peters, Tristan 1
CS: Martin, Evan 1
HBP: Walters, Ian 1 ; Weber, J.T. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
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