Tuesday, April 30
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
26-19
7
vs
5
Southern Indiana
19-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southern Indiana
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
0
0
5
8
0
Southern Illinois
0
0
0
3
1
2
1
0
X
7
10
3
Photo by: Abby Harris
Recap | Salukis Knock Off Southern Indiana 7-5 in Midweek Action
04/30/2024 | 9:34:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball picked up a 7-5 midweek win over Southern Indiana Tuesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium as right-hander Anthony Pron pitched two scoreless innings to secure the victory for the Salukis.
It was a pitcher's duel until the fourth inning when Southern Indiana was finally able to crack the scoreboard with a pair of runs off of Saluki starter Jake Combs. SIU wasted no time answering back as the Salukis worked two walks, a pair of hits, and a hit-by-pitch in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead.
With two outs on the board, Steven Loden walked, Nathan Bandy doubled, and Bennett Eltoft was hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Hesston Gray was able to work a walk to force the first run across for the Salukis before Trey Cutchen gave SIU the lead with a two-run single to center.
Loden added to the lead with an RBI single up the middle in the fifth and Southern Illinois (26-19) pushed across two more runs in the sixth as Gray and Cutchen drove in two more runs to make it a 6-2 SIU lead.
Southern Indiana (19-26) cut the lead to just one run in the seventh with a three-spot before SIU was able to get out of the inning.
Steven Loden launched his ninth home run of the season off the scoreboard in right-center in the eighth inning to give the Salukis a 7-5 lead.
Pron struck out the Screaming Eagle side in the eighth and worked around one baserunner in the ninth inning en route to his team-leading ninth save of the season.
Cole Koonce picked up the win in relief to improve to 3-1 on the year. Koonce pitched two scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. Shane Wilhelm struck out two of the three hitters he faced out of the bullpen.
Combs went three innings in the start and allowed one run on three hits. The right-hander struck out three and walked one in the outing.
Loden, Cutchen, and Gray each had two base hits as Southern Illinois outhit USI, 10-8 in the game. Cutchen led the Salukis with three RBI while Gray and Loden had two each.
Will Kiesel was hit with the loss after allowing the go-ahead run in the fourth to fall to 0-1. Carson Seeman pitched two innings and did not allow a baserunner in two innings. Mason Sweeney issued three walks and allowed two runs in relief.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will hit the road for a weekend series at Illinois State starting Friday. The series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. and 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 X at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball, and Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
It was a pitcher's duel until the fourth inning when Southern Indiana was finally able to crack the scoreboard with a pair of runs off of Saluki starter Jake Combs. SIU wasted no time answering back as the Salukis worked two walks, a pair of hits, and a hit-by-pitch in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead.
With two outs on the board, Steven Loden walked, Nathan Bandy doubled, and Bennett Eltoft was hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Hesston Gray was able to work a walk to force the first run across for the Salukis before Trey Cutchen gave SIU the lead with a two-run single to center.
Loden added to the lead with an RBI single up the middle in the fifth and Southern Illinois (26-19) pushed across two more runs in the sixth as Gray and Cutchen drove in two more runs to make it a 6-2 SIU lead.
Southern Indiana (19-26) cut the lead to just one run in the seventh with a three-spot before SIU was able to get out of the inning.
Steven Loden launched his ninth home run of the season off the scoreboard in right-center in the eighth inning to give the Salukis a 7-5 lead.
Pron struck out the Screaming Eagle side in the eighth and worked around one baserunner in the ninth inning en route to his team-leading ninth save of the season.
Cole Koonce picked up the win in relief to improve to 3-1 on the year. Koonce pitched two scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. Shane Wilhelm struck out two of the three hitters he faced out of the bullpen.
Combs went three innings in the start and allowed one run on three hits. The right-hander struck out three and walked one in the outing.
Loden, Cutchen, and Gray each had two base hits as Southern Illinois outhit USI, 10-8 in the game. Cutchen led the Salukis with three RBI while Gray and Loden had two each.
Will Kiesel was hit with the loss after allowing the go-ahead run in the fourth to fall to 0-1. Carson Seeman pitched two innings and did not allow a baserunner in two innings. Mason Sweeney issued three walks and allowed two runs in relief.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will hit the road for a weekend series at Illinois State starting Friday. The series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. and 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 X at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball, and Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Koonce, Cole (3-1)
L: Kiesel, Will (0-1)
S: Pron, Anthony (9)
Batting:
2B: Tachioka, Ren 1 ; Ebest, Tucker 1 ; Crowden, Lane 1
RBI: Tachioka, Ren 1 ; Niehaus, Caleb 1 ; Ebest, Tucker 2 ; Emerich, Thomas 1
SH: Ellis, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tachioka, Ren 1 ; Van Grieken, Ricardo 1 ; Niehaus, Caleb 1 ; Ebest, Tucker 1 ; Crowden, Lane 1
CS: Tachioka, Ren 1
HBP: Van Grieken, Ricardo 1
PO: Thompson-Allen, T. 1
Batting:
2B: Bandy, Nathan 1 ; Gray, Hesston 2 ; Cutchen, Trey 1
HR: Loden, Steven 1
RBI: Loden, Steven 2 ; Gray, Hesston 2 ; Cutchen, Trey 3
SF: Cutchen, Trey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bach, Jordan 1 ; Loden, Steven 2 ; Bandy, Nathan 1 ; Eltoft, Bennett 2 ; Gray, Hesston 1
CS: Christman, Cole 1
HBP: Eltoft, Bennett 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
3b/2b
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
2b/3b
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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