Friday, May 14
Terre Haute, Ind.
2 p.m. CT
Southern Illinois University
33-16, 0
4
at
5
Indiana State
25-12, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
4
8
0
Indiana State
3
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
X
5
7
1
Salukis fall late at Indiana State
05/14/2021 | 5:31:00 | Baseball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The SIU baseball team rallied from a three-run deficit to tie the game, but Indiana State scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the series opener, 5-4.Â
The Salukis (33-16, 10-11 MVC) played well against Indiana State (25-12, 12-5 MVC), which has a top-20 RPI nationally, and its starting pitcher Geremy Guerrero, a frontrunner for MVC Pitcher of the Year with a sub-2.00 ERA this season.Â
"I was proud of the fact that we hung in there, even though we were down early to a pitcher who has been dominant all year long," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "It would be easy to cave in, but we battled and eventually knocked him out. We came back and tied the game and had a chance to win. Unfortunately, when you give a good team extra outs, whether that's walks or hit-by-pitches, or a forced mistake, when you give them extra opportunities, they cash in. We had too many self-inflicted mistakes that cost us the game."
The Sycamores struck first with a three-run first inning to take a 3-0 lead, aided in part by SIU failing to record an out on a ground ball by trying to force a lead runner, who beat the throw. SIU starter Mike Hansell settled in and retired seven-straight after the first inning, and Nick Neville hit a solo homer off Guerrero to get SIU within 3-1. Indiana State added a run in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead.Â
Kyle Back was outstanding out of the bullpen for SIU. He came into a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth and got out of it. He kept SIU within striking distance and went a season-high 3.2 innings without allowing a run. Back allowed just two hits and struck out three.
"I'm proud of the way he threw," Rhodes said of Back. "One inning after another, he gave us an opportunity to keep fighting offensively. He's the reason we were able to tie the game."
With Back dealing on the mound, SIU's offense went to work against Guerrero. Trailing 4-1 in the seventh inning, Ian Walters started a two-out rally with a single, and Grey Epps made it hurt with an RBI double to get the Salukis within 4-2. Cody Cleveland started the eighth inning with a single, and an error put two SIU runners on base with no outs. Tristan Peters grounded out to move the tying run into scoring position. Neville got SIU within 4-3 on an RBI groundout, and Philip Archer came through with an RBI double against Indiana State closer Connor Fenlong.
"We knew it was going to be tough (against Guerrero)," Rhodes said. "We were going to have to scrap and claw for every run. When you look at everything, we played a fairly solid game, but on a Friday night in college baseball between two good teams, the team that makes more mistakes will lose. We made more mistakes than they did, and they came out one run ahead."
The Sycamores won the game in the bottom of the eighth. Jordan Schaffer hit a two-out single and stole second, and he scored the game-winning run on an RBI single by Aaron Beck.Â
UP NEXT: SIU and Indiana State play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at noon Central Time. The first game will be a seven-inning game, followed by a nine inning game. Ben Chapman and Brad Harrison will take the mound for SIU.Â
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The Salukis (33-16, 10-11 MVC) played well against Indiana State (25-12, 12-5 MVC), which has a top-20 RPI nationally, and its starting pitcher Geremy Guerrero, a frontrunner for MVC Pitcher of the Year with a sub-2.00 ERA this season.Â
"I was proud of the fact that we hung in there, even though we were down early to a pitcher who has been dominant all year long," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "It would be easy to cave in, but we battled and eventually knocked him out. We came back and tied the game and had a chance to win. Unfortunately, when you give a good team extra outs, whether that's walks or hit-by-pitches, or a forced mistake, when you give them extra opportunities, they cash in. We had too many self-inflicted mistakes that cost us the game."
The Sycamores struck first with a three-run first inning to take a 3-0 lead, aided in part by SIU failing to record an out on a ground ball by trying to force a lead runner, who beat the throw. SIU starter Mike Hansell settled in and retired seven-straight after the first inning, and Nick Neville hit a solo homer off Guerrero to get SIU within 3-1. Indiana State added a run in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead.Â
Kyle Back was outstanding out of the bullpen for SIU. He came into a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth and got out of it. He kept SIU within striking distance and went a season-high 3.2 innings without allowing a run. Back allowed just two hits and struck out three.
"I'm proud of the way he threw," Rhodes said of Back. "One inning after another, he gave us an opportunity to keep fighting offensively. He's the reason we were able to tie the game."
With Back dealing on the mound, SIU's offense went to work against Guerrero. Trailing 4-1 in the seventh inning, Ian Walters started a two-out rally with a single, and Grey Epps made it hurt with an RBI double to get the Salukis within 4-2. Cody Cleveland started the eighth inning with a single, and an error put two SIU runners on base with no outs. Tristan Peters grounded out to move the tying run into scoring position. Neville got SIU within 4-3 on an RBI groundout, and Philip Archer came through with an RBI double against Indiana State closer Connor Fenlong.
"We knew it was going to be tough (against Guerrero)," Rhodes said. "We were going to have to scrap and claw for every run. When you look at everything, we played a fairly solid game, but on a Friday night in college baseball between two good teams, the team that makes more mistakes will lose. We made more mistakes than they did, and they came out one run ahead."
The Sycamores won the game in the bottom of the eighth. Jordan Schaffer hit a two-out single and stole second, and he scored the game-winning run on an RBI single by Aaron Beck.Â
UP NEXT: SIU and Indiana State play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at noon Central Time. The first game will be a seven-inning game, followed by a nine inning game. Ben Chapman and Brad Harrison will take the mound for SIU.Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fenlong,Connor (4-0)
L: McDaniel, Trey (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Archer, Philip 1 ; Epps, Grey 1
HR: Neville, Nick 1
RBI: Neville, Nick 2 ; Archer, Philip 1 ; Epps, Grey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cleveland, Cody 1 ; Weber, J.T. 1 ; Neville, Nick 1 ; Walters, Ian 1
Batting:
2B: II,Ellison Hanna 1
RBI: Schaffer,Jordan 1 ; Beck,Aaron 1 ; Urdaneta,Josue 1 ; Barrow,Mitch 2
SF: Schaffer,Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schaffer,Jordan 2 ; Wright,Max 1 ; Rivera,Miguel 1 ; Barrow,Mitch 1
SB: Schaffer,Jordan 1
HBP: Schaffer,Jordan 1 ; Barrow,Mitch 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
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