Southern Illinois University
8-5
Houston Christian
7-7
Recap | Dermody shines, Salukis beat Houston Christian 13-11 in series opener
03/07/2024 | 5:00:00 | Baseball
After Houston Christian (7-7) led off the game with a run, Loden smacked a three-run home run – his sixth of the season – to triple the Huskies total and give the Salukis (8-5) a 3-1 lead after the first inning.
A two-run triple by Trey Cutchen started a six-run bottom of the second for Southern.
Houston Christian responded with an eight-run top of the third, capped off with back-to-back home runs from Lane Sparks and Samuel Benjamin to tie the game at nine.
Bennett Eltoft immediately broke the tie with a two-run double in the bottom of the third that would put the Salukis ahead for good.
The Salukis got insurance runs via a solo home run from Hesston Gray and a sacrifice fly from Nathan Bandy.
Houston Christian brought the deficit to two after Tyler LaRue led off the top of the ninth with a solo home run, but Dermody struck out the final three batters and secured the victory for the Salukis.
The Salukis got 2.2 innings from starter Aidan Foeller. The right-hander allowed seven runs, but only two were earned.
Kade Coombe (1-0) picked up his first win of the season after collecting the final out in the top of the third inning.
Dermody (S, 2) pitched six complete innings, striking out nine hitters while walking none and allowing two runs.
Loden paced the Saluki offense with three hits and five RBIs.
Houston Christian reliever Jonathan Valdez steadied the Huskies' pitching, throwing 4.2 frames and allowing three runs out of the bullpen.
Samuel Benjamin finished with four hits, three runs scored and two RBIs to lead the Huskies.
UP NEXT
The Salukis and Huskies will continue their series Friday at Itchy Jones Stadium. The first pitch time has been changed to 12 p.m. due to inclement weather in the area.
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: Coombe, Kade (1-0)
L: Valdez, Jonathan (0-1)
S: Dermody, Easton (2)
Batting:
2B: Halligan, Katcher 1
HR: Benjamin, Samuel 2 ; LaRue, Tyler 1 ; Sparks, Lane 1
RBI: Benjamin, Samuel 2 ; Jewell, William 1 ; LaRue, Tyler 1 ; LaRue, Dylan 1 ; Prinner, Josh 2 ; Roper, Trevor 1 ; Sparks, Lane 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Benjamin, Samuel 3 ; Hodge, Ty 1 ; Jewell, William 1 ; LaRue, Tyler 1 ; LaRue, Dylan 2 ; Prinner, Josh 1 ; Roper, Trevor 1 ; Sparks, Lane 1
CS: Benjamin, Samuel 1
Batting:
2B: Christman, Cole 1 ; Eltoft, Bennett 2
3B: Cutchen, Trey 1
HR: Loden, Steven 1 ; Gray, Hesston 1
RBI: Cutchen, Trey 2 ; Loden, Steven 5 ; Eltoft, Bennett 2 ; Gray, Hesston 2 ; Bandy, Nathan 1 ; Kodama, Anthony 1
SF: Bandy, Nathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Allgeyer, Jake 1 ; Cutchen, Trey 1 ; Bach, Jordan 2 ; Christman, Cole 4 ; Loden, Steven 2 ; Eltoft, Bennett 1 ; Gray, Hesston 1 ; Kodama, Anthony 1
