Southern Illinois University
0-1
Louisiana-Monroe
1-0
Saluki Baseball falls to Louisiana-Monroe, 1-0
02/18/2022 | 9:31:00 | Baseball
A pitchers' duel broke Louisiana-Monroe's way late as the Southern Illinois University baseball team suffered a 1-0 loss on opening day at Warhawk Field.
After the Salukis (0-1) turned it over to their bullpen in the bottom of the eighth, the Warhawks took advantage. ULM got its lead runner on courtesy of a single to center field and moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt. A stolen base after a strikeout moved the runner to third, and a two-out single to right brought in the game's only run.
Southern's opening day starter Ben Chapman was stellar in his first start of the 2022 campaign. The Rochester, Ill. native threw seven innings of two-hit baseball. He struck out six and walked just one. Matthew Steidl took the loss in relief, as he allowed a run on two hits in his lone inning of work.
After allowing a trio of runners to reach base in the first two innings, Chapman settled in. He retired the next 15 batters that he faced before he gave way to Steidl in the eighth.
The new look Salukis, who started five newcomers, missed opportunities to strike first in both the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Zack Jensen led off the frame with a double down the left field line but was stranded at second. In the sixth, Kaeber Rog socked a one-out double down the right field line but ULM's starter Cam Barlow worked his way out of the jam.
Rog led the Salukis at the plate, as he went 2-for-4 with a double. J.T. Weber (1-for-4) and Jensen (1-for-4, double) each added base hits.
The two sides will tangle tomorrow at 6 p.m. for game two of the series.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wepf, Lucas (1-0)
L: Steidl, Matthew (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Rog, Kaeber 1 ; Jensen, Zack 1
Batting:
RBI: Henry, Trace 1
SH: Cupit, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Perkins, William 1
SB: Perkins, William 1
