Friday, February 17
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4:30 PM
Southern Illinois University
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Photo by: Mark Olencki
Salukis Power Past Wofford in Season Opening Win, 9-4
02/17/2023 | 8:00:00 | Baseball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Southern Illinois baseball's 2023 season kicked off with a bang Friday evening on the road at Wofford. The high-powered Saluki offense connected on four home runs and nine extra-base hits to defeat the Terriers, 9-4.
Steven Loden had a day for the Dawgs, going 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run home runs in the win. Cole Christman and Bennett Eltoft also joined the party with homers of their own over the first two innings of play to put SIU ahead early.
It didn't take long for the offense to get things going as the Salukis notched three runs in the first inning. Southern got a one-out double from preseason All-American Kaeber Rog before Loden, a Lower Gwynedd, Pa. native, hit a two-run home run in his SIU debut – becoming the seventh player in program history to do so.
Southern would get their third run of the first when Pier-Olivier Boucher tripled and came home on a passed ball to make it 3-0 in favor of the Salukis.
Terriers ace and SOCON Preseason Pitcher of the Year Matthew Marchel would not make it through the second inning as the Salukis tallied four more runs, including home runs from newcomers Eltoft and Christman – who also joined the list of SIU players to homer in their debuts.
Rog would drive in his first RBI of the season on a hit-and-run to make it 7-0 SIU before Wofford would record its first out.
Wofford answered back with three runs in the second before Loden connected on his second home run of the day in the fourth inning – a two-run shot to right center.
The Terriers would add one more run in the seventh to make it 9-4 but that was as close as they would get.
Seven of the first eight Saluki hits were extra-base hits and the offense did all it needed to for SIU starter Ben Chapman who was solid in his season debut. The right-hander allowed just three runs over five innings while retiring five Terriers on punchouts.
Scott Harper would take the mound in the sixth for SIU and pitch the next three innings, giving up just one run and striking out four. Shane Wilhelm closed the door on Wofford in the bottom of the ninth. The righty worked around a leadoff baserunner with a double play before inducing the groundout to end the game.
Five Salukis recorded a multi-hit day while eight SIU batters reached base in the win.
Ryan Galanie led the Terriers with a 3-for-3 day and two RBIs.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will play two games on Saturday with the first beginning at 1 p.m. CT against Wofford. SIU will then take on Towson at approximately 5 p.m. CT. Neither game will have a video or audio stream, but fans can follow the action via live stats or on Twitter by following SIU_Baseball.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball and on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Steven Loden had a day for the Dawgs, going 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run home runs in the win. Cole Christman and Bennett Eltoft also joined the party with homers of their own over the first two innings of play to put SIU ahead early.
It didn't take long for the offense to get things going as the Salukis notched three runs in the first inning. Southern got a one-out double from preseason All-American Kaeber Rog before Loden, a Lower Gwynedd, Pa. native, hit a two-run home run in his SIU debut – becoming the seventh player in program history to do so.
Southern would get their third run of the first when Pier-Olivier Boucher tripled and came home on a passed ball to make it 3-0 in favor of the Salukis.
Terriers ace and SOCON Preseason Pitcher of the Year Matthew Marchel would not make it through the second inning as the Salukis tallied four more runs, including home runs from newcomers Eltoft and Christman – who also joined the list of SIU players to homer in their debuts.
Rog would drive in his first RBI of the season on a hit-and-run to make it 7-0 SIU before Wofford would record its first out.
Wofford answered back with three runs in the second before Loden connected on his second home run of the day in the fourth inning – a two-run shot to right center.
The Terriers would add one more run in the seventh to make it 9-4 but that was as close as they would get.
Seven of the first eight Saluki hits were extra-base hits and the offense did all it needed to for SIU starter Ben Chapman who was solid in his season debut. The right-hander allowed just three runs over five innings while retiring five Terriers on punchouts.
Scott Harper would take the mound in the sixth for SIU and pitch the next three innings, giving up just one run and striking out four. Shane Wilhelm closed the door on Wofford in the bottom of the ninth. The righty worked around a leadoff baserunner with a double play before inducing the groundout to end the game.
Five Salukis recorded a multi-hit day while eight SIU batters reached base in the win.
Ryan Galanie led the Terriers with a 3-for-3 day and two RBIs.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will play two games on Saturday with the first beginning at 1 p.m. CT against Wofford. SIU will then take on Towson at approximately 5 p.m. CT. Neither game will have a video or audio stream, but fans can follow the action via live stats or on Twitter by following SIU_Baseball.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball and on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chapman, Ben (1-0)
L: Matthew Marchal (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Rog, Kaeber 2 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Christman, Cole 1
3B: Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1
HR: Loden, Steven 2 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Christman, Cole 1
RBI: Rog, Kaeber 1 ; Loden, Steven 4 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Christman, Cole 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Vallee, Mathieu 1 ; Rog, Kaeber 1 ; Rodriguez, Ryan 1 ; Loden, Steven 2 ; Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Bandy, Nathan 1 ; Christman, Cole 1
CS: Vallee, Mathieu 1
HBP: Rodriguez, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Marshall Toole 1
RBI: Ryan Galanie 2 ; Dixon Black 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Marshall Toole 1 ; Brice Martinez 1 ; Cameron Gill 1 ; Jack Renwick 1
CS: Ryan Galanie 1 ; Dixon Black 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
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