Southern Illinois University
22-14, 0
Evansville
20-15, 0
Salukis Walk Off Evansville to Clinch Series Victory
04/16/2023 | 4:22:00 | Baseball
Pier-Olivier Boucher and Matt Schark tallied two hits and an RBI each to lead SIU.
Boucher launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first to get the scoring started early. His ten home runs are second on the team and tied for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
After Evansville tied the game with a solo home run from Kip Fougerousee, Saluki starter Tanner Lewis settled in, retiring the next nine batters he faced.
First baseman Matt Schark briefly untied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly, but the Aces knotted the game back up in the top of the seventh. Reliever Paul Bonzagni limited the damage after starting the inning with the bases loaded and none out.
With a runner on second and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Nathan Bandy connected on an RBI single to right center to put the Salukis ahead and clinch the series victory.
Lewis put together a strong start, pitching six innings and striking out a career-high 10 batters. He allowed one earned run, three hits, and walked four. Paul Bonzagni (6-2) earned his sixth win of the season, which leads The Valley. He pitched three innings, allowing one earned run, three hits, one walk, and striking out three.
Kip Fougerousse led the offense for Evansville, going 2-for-4 with an RBI along with his seventh home run of the season.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois will take on Austin Peay in Tuesday's midweek action. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bonzagni, Paul (6-2)
L: Michael Parks (2-1)
Batting:
HR: Kip Fougerousse 1
RBI: Eric Roberts 1 ; Kip Fougerousse 1
SF: Eric Roberts 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brendan Hord 1 ; Kip Fougerousse 1
SB: Chase Hug 1 ; Simon Scherry 1
HBP: Danny Borgstrom 1
PO: Brent Widder 1
Batting:
2B: Rodriguez, Ryan 1 ; Schark, Matt 1
HR: Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1
RBI: Bandy, Nathan 1 ; Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1 ; Schark, Matt 1
SF: Schark, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1 ; Rog, Kaeber 1 ; Schark, Matt 1
SB: Bandy, Nathan 2 ; Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1 ; Schark, Matt 1
HBP: Boucher, Pier-Olivier 1
