Friday, March 22
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
15-7, 0
6
vs
4
Valparaiso
8-12, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Valparaiso
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
4
9
0
Southern Illinois
1
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
X
6
8
0
Recap | Eltoft’s Grand Slam Pushes Saluki Past Valpo in MVC Opener, 6-4
03/22/2024 | 9:08:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball staved off a late rally from Valparaiso to open Missouri Valley Conference play with a 6-4 win over the Beacons Friday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.
The Salukis wasted no time jumping out in front as Trey Cutchen was able to come home in the top of the first on an RBI groundout off the bat of Cole Christman. Cutchen was able to lead off the game with a double – one of three base hits for the SIU leadoff man on the night.
Southern continued to swing a hot bat with the bases loaded as SIU pushed four across the plate in the second. Bennett Eltoft hit SIU's third grand slam in the last three home games. It was Eltoft's second home run of the season moving his RBI total to 17 in 20 games.
Alex Thurston pulled the Beacons to within five runs in the fifth as the nine-hole hitter hit a solo home run to right field. Southern answered with a run in the bottom of the inning after Cutchen scored on a sacrifice fly after doubling to center to lead off the inning.
Mike Hansell (3-1) put together another quality start for the Salukis in his second-straight Friday night start. The right-hander struck out nine batters and allowed only two runs in six hits over five innings of work. Hansell struck out the side in the third inning while retiring two Valpo hitters on punchouts in both the second and fourth innings.
Thurston picked up his second RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it a 6-2 game.
After driving in the second run of the game in the sixth on a sacrifice fly, Thurston would pick up his third RBI of the game in the eighth after popping up to center to cut the SIU lead to 6-3. Right-hander Anthony Pron would get a strikeout looking to end the threat and send the Beacons back to the dugout.
After Valpo scored a run in the ninth to make it 6-4, the Beacons would have a runner on with the tying run at the plate in pinch hitter Chase Maifield. Pron would get the punchout to end the game and earn his fourth save of the year.
The Saluki bullpen would finish the final four innings of play, allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out five.
Cutchen led the Salukis with a 3-for-4 day at the plate while Jordan Back was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Eltoft drove in four while Christman tallied two RBIs on sacrifice flies.
Connor Lockwood (1-1) took the loss for the Beacons after surrendering six runs in six innings and striking out four.
UP NEXT
The Salukis and Beacons return to Itchy Jones Stadium for game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game will air on ESPN Plus.
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 wasted no time jumping out in front as Trey Cutchen was able to come home in the top of the first on an RBI groundout off the bat of Cole Christman. Cutchen was able to lead off the game with a double – one of three base hits for the SIU leadoff man on the night.
Southern continued to swing a hot bat with the bases loaded as SIU pushed four across the plate in the second. Bennett Eltoft hit SIU's third grand slam in the last three home games. It was Eltoft's second home run of the season moving his RBI total to 17 in 20 games.
Alex Thurston pulled the Beacons to within five runs in the fifth as the nine-hole hitter hit a solo home run to right field. Southern answered with a run in the bottom of the inning after Cutchen scored on a sacrifice fly after doubling to center to lead off the inning.
Mike Hansell (3-1) put together another quality start for the Salukis in his second-straight Friday night start. The right-hander struck out nine batters and allowed only two runs in six hits over five innings of work. Hansell struck out the side in the third inning while retiring two Valpo hitters on punchouts in both the second and fourth innings.
Thurston picked up his second RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it a 6-2 game.
After driving in the second run of the game in the sixth on a sacrifice fly, Thurston would pick up his third RBI of the game in the eighth after popping up to center to cut the SIU lead to 6-3. Right-hander Anthony Pron would get a strikeout looking to end the threat and send the Beacons back to the dugout.
After Valpo scored a run in the ninth to make it 6-4, the Beacons would have a runner on with the tying run at the plate in pinch hitter Chase Maifield. Pron would get the punchout to end the game and earn his fourth save of the year.
The Saluki bullpen would finish the final four innings of play, allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out five.
Cutchen led the Salukis with a 3-for-4 day at the plate while Jordan Back was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Eltoft drove in four while Christman tallied two RBIs on sacrifice flies.
Connor Lockwood (1-1) took the loss for the Beacons after surrendering six runs in six innings and striking out four.
UP NEXT
The Salukis and Beacons return to Itchy Jones Stadium for game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game will air on ESPN Plus.
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: Hansell, Mike (3-1)
L: Lockwood, Connor (1-1)
S: Pron, Anthony (4)
Batting:
2B: Giusti, Connor 1
HR: Thurston, Alex 1
RBI: Giusti, Connor 1 ; Thurston, Alex 3
SF: Thurston, Alex 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Denty, Kevin 2 ; Giusti, Connor 1 ; Thurston, Alex 1
SB: Hannahs, Kaleb 1
HBP: Hannahs, Kaleb 1 ; Ryan, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: Cutchen, Trey 2
HR: Eltoft, Bennett 1
RBI: Christman, Cole 2 ; Eltoft, Bennett 4
SF: Christman, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cutchen, Trey 2 ; Loden, Steven 1 ; Bach, Jordan 1 ; Vallee, Mathieu 1 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1
SB: Cutchen, Trey 1 ; Christman, Cole 1
CS: Bach, Jordan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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