Friday, February 16
Natchitoches, LA
6:30 PM
Southern Illinois University
1-0
14
at
7
Northwestern State
0-1-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
0
6
3
0
0
2
0
2
1
14
13
0
Northwestern State
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
3
7
11
4
Photo by: Chris Reich – NSU Photographic Services
Recap | Salukis Power Past Northwestern State in Season Opener, 14-7
02/16/2024 | 10:15:00 | Baseball
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Southern Illinois opened the 2024 baseball season with a 14-7 victory over Northwestern State Friday night at Brown-Stroud Field.
The Salukis (1-0) got things going early with six runs in the second inning of action. Jake Allgeyer drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Salukis on the board before Mathieu Vallee singled in a run on a ball to left field. Bennett Eltoft put the exclamation on the inning with a bases-clearing triple off the wall in center field.
Another newcomer to the lineup in Hesston Gray would make his mark with an RBI single in the third. Eltoft picked up his fifth RBI of the day in the third with a two-RBI single to make it a 9-0 SIU lead.
That was all the cushion that Saluki starting pitcher Aidan Foeller needed as the right-hander was dominant in his first start in maroon & white. Foeller tossed five complete innings and allowed just one base hit while retiring eight NSU batters on strikeouts. A Nesbit, Mississippi native, Foeller sat down the first seven batters he faced before Lathen Buzard recorded the first and only hit against Foeller in five innings.
"I'm so proud of the fact that he was able to go out there for the first time in a Division I uniform and really show tremendous composure," head coach Lance Rhodes said after the game. "He looked like he was a savvy veteran out there who has done it many times. That's what we saw all fall and preseason, so we knew it was there and I'm just excited he went out there and executed."
The Salukis would extend their lead to 11-0 in the sixth after a fielding error by Northwestern State allowed two runs to cross the plate. NSU would crack the scoreboard with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Nathan Bandy singled in two runs and Steven Loden collected his first home run of the season in the top of the ninth to pad the lead.
Northwestern State (0-1) would put up seven runs in the final three innings, but it wasn't enough as SIU took advantage of four Demons errors on the night.
SIU was led offensively by Eltoft's 3-for-5 day at the plate. Jordan Bach, Trey Cutchen and Loden also had two hits each for Southern. Allgeyer scored three runs for the Salukis, reaching base on walks three times.
Right-hander Scott Harper struck out three in two innings of relief work for the Salukis.
NSU starting pitcher Chase Prestwich allowed seven earned runs in 2.1 innings to fall to 0-1.
UP NEXT
Southern will look to claim the series win on Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
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.
The Salukis (1-0) got things going early with six runs in the second inning of action. Jake Allgeyer drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Salukis on the board before Mathieu Vallee singled in a run on a ball to left field. Bennett Eltoft put the exclamation on the inning with a bases-clearing triple off the wall in center field.
Another newcomer to the lineup in Hesston Gray would make his mark with an RBI single in the third. Eltoft picked up his fifth RBI of the day in the third with a two-RBI single to make it a 9-0 SIU lead.
That was all the cushion that Saluki starting pitcher Aidan Foeller needed as the right-hander was dominant in his first start in maroon & white. Foeller tossed five complete innings and allowed just one base hit while retiring eight NSU batters on strikeouts. A Nesbit, Mississippi native, Foeller sat down the first seven batters he faced before Lathen Buzard recorded the first and only hit against Foeller in five innings.
"I'm so proud of the fact that he was able to go out there for the first time in a Division I uniform and really show tremendous composure," head coach Lance Rhodes said after the game. "He looked like he was a savvy veteran out there who has done it many times. That's what we saw all fall and preseason, so we knew it was there and I'm just excited he went out there and executed."
The Salukis would extend their lead to 11-0 in the sixth after a fielding error by Northwestern State allowed two runs to cross the plate. NSU would crack the scoreboard with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Nathan Bandy singled in two runs and Steven Loden collected his first home run of the season in the top of the ninth to pad the lead.
Northwestern State (0-1) would put up seven runs in the final three innings, but it wasn't enough as SIU took advantage of four Demons errors on the night.
SIU was led offensively by Eltoft's 3-for-5 day at the plate. Jordan Bach, Trey Cutchen and Loden also had two hits each for Southern. Allgeyer scored three runs for the Salukis, reaching base on walks three times.
Right-hander Scott Harper struck out three in two innings of relief work for the Salukis.
NSU starting pitcher Chase Prestwich allowed seven earned runs in 2.1 innings to fall to 0-1.
UP NEXT
Southern will look to claim the series win on Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
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: Foeller, Aidan (1-0)
L: Prestwich, C (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Cutchen, Trey 1
3B: Eltoft, Bennett 1
HR: Loden, Steven 1
RBI: Vallee, Mathieu 1 ; Bandy, Nathan 2 ; Eltoft, Bennett 5 ; Loden, Steven 1 ; Allgeyer, Jake 1 ; Gray, Hesston 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vallee, Mathieu 1 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Bach, Jordan 1 ; Schark, Matt 1 ; Loden, Steven 2 ; Kodama, Anthony 1 ; Cutchen, Trey 3 ; Allgeyer, Jake 3 ; Gray, Hesston 1
SB: Bandy, Nathan 1 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Bach, Jordan 1 ; Cutchen, Trey 1
HBP: Allgeyer, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Gump, R. 1 ; Willis, B. 1 ; Hill, C. 1
HR: Gump, R. 1
RBI: Lipoma, R. 1 ; Gump, R. 1 ; Willis, B. 2 ; Jung, C. 1 ; Young, D. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lipoma, R. 1 ; Leonard, Bry 1 ; Gump, R. 1 ; Willis, B. 2 ; Hill, C. 1 ; Rains, C. 1
HBP: Burroway, D. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
5
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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OF
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