Sunday, February 23
Cookeville, TN
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
2-3
9
at
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Tennessee Tech
6-1
1
2
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southern Illinois
0
0
0
1
1
5
2
0
0
9
14
0
Tennessee Tech
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
1
Photo by: Jim Dillon, TTU Athletics
Recap | Salukis Even Series with Tennessee Tech after a 9-1 Win in Cookeville
02/23/2025 | 5:30:00 | Baseball
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The bats came alive, and Alec Nigut continued his dominance on the mound as Southern Illinois baseball picked up a 9-1 win over Tennessee Tech to even the series on Sunday.
The Salukis (2-3) went for a season-high 14 base hits in the win over the Golden Eagles, including four extra-base hits. Matt Schark and Jordan Bach led SIU with three hits in the win. Schark, along with newcomer Gabe Petrucelli collected a pair of doubles while Cecil Lofton and Mason Schwalbach homered against Tech.
Nigut, a Des Moines, Iowa native, put together another quality start for the Salukis as he improved to 2-0 on the season. The southpaw finished the game with five complete innings, allowing one earned run while striking out six. TTU was able to work four walks and three hits in the game, but Nigut and the Saluki defense held strong to allow just one run in the start.
Scoreless after three innings, the Saluki offense broke the scoreless streak in the fourth when Cecil Lofton connected on his first home run of the season with a solo shot to right field. Southern carried that momentum to the fifth when Cade Nelis led off the inning with a double to the gap in left before coming home after Bach singled through the left side of the infield to make it a 2-1 game.
Tennessee Tech (6-1) would score its only run of the game in the fifth after working three walks and a base hit on Nigut. The only Golden Eagle run came in via a bases-loaded walk before the Dawgs could get out of the inning.
SIU put together a five-run sixth inning that forced two Tech pitchers from the game as the Salukis sent eight batters to the plate. After Lofton led off the frame with his second hit of the day, Schwalbach hammered a two-run blast to right to make it 4-1. Schark singled up the middle before Petrucelli brought him home with a double to right center.
After two outs, TTU looked to get out of the inning by limiting the damage to just two runs, but the Salukis continued to push runs as Jaxon Holder drove in his first RBI of the year with a single down the line in right field. Bach would bring home Holder with another two-out RBI with SIU's first triple of the season to make it a 7-1 Saluki lead.
With two on in the seventh Petrucelli picked up his second double of the day to bring in the runs and end the Southern Illinois scoring for the day.
Junior reliever Gavan Wernsing put together another strong bullpen performance as he earned his season save of the season. The lefty pitched the final four innings -- a season-high -- and allowed just four baserunners and no runs.
The SIU pitching duo allowed just five hits to Tennessee Tech in the win, striking out seven and allowing just one extra-base hit.
Jack Braffa took the loss for the Golden Eagles, falling to 1-1 on the season. The right-hander gave up seven hits, three runs and recorded one strikeout in five innings. Drew Mattox allowed four runs on five hits in the sixth.
Preston Steele had two of Tennessee Tech's five base hits in the game.
UP NEXT
The Salukis and Golden Eagles will play for the series win on Monday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
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 on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
The Salukis (2-3) went for a season-high 14 base hits in the win over the Golden Eagles, including four extra-base hits. Matt Schark and Jordan Bach led SIU with three hits in the win. Schark, along with newcomer Gabe Petrucelli collected a pair of doubles while Cecil Lofton and Mason Schwalbach homered against Tech.
Nigut, a Des Moines, Iowa native, put together another quality start for the Salukis as he improved to 2-0 on the season. The southpaw finished the game with five complete innings, allowing one earned run while striking out six. TTU was able to work four walks and three hits in the game, but Nigut and the Saluki defense held strong to allow just one run in the start.
Scoreless after three innings, the Saluki offense broke the scoreless streak in the fourth when Cecil Lofton connected on his first home run of the season with a solo shot to right field. Southern carried that momentum to the fifth when Cade Nelis led off the inning with a double to the gap in left before coming home after Bach singled through the left side of the infield to make it a 2-1 game.
Tennessee Tech (6-1) would score its only run of the game in the fifth after working three walks and a base hit on Nigut. The only Golden Eagle run came in via a bases-loaded walk before the Dawgs could get out of the inning.
SIU put together a five-run sixth inning that forced two Tech pitchers from the game as the Salukis sent eight batters to the plate. After Lofton led off the frame with his second hit of the day, Schwalbach hammered a two-run blast to right to make it 4-1. Schark singled up the middle before Petrucelli brought him home with a double to right center.
After two outs, TTU looked to get out of the inning by limiting the damage to just two runs, but the Salukis continued to push runs as Jaxon Holder drove in his first RBI of the year with a single down the line in right field. Bach would bring home Holder with another two-out RBI with SIU's first triple of the season to make it a 7-1 Saluki lead.
With two on in the seventh Petrucelli picked up his second double of the day to bring in the runs and end the Southern Illinois scoring for the day.
Junior reliever Gavan Wernsing put together another strong bullpen performance as he earned his season save of the season. The lefty pitched the final four innings -- a season-high -- and allowed just four baserunners and no runs.
The SIU pitching duo allowed just five hits to Tennessee Tech in the win, striking out seven and allowing just one extra-base hit.
Jack Braffa took the loss for the Golden Eagles, falling to 1-1 on the season. The right-hander gave up seven hits, three runs and recorded one strikeout in five innings. Drew Mattox allowed four runs on five hits in the sixth.
Preston Steele had two of Tennessee Tech's five base hits in the game.
UP NEXT
The Salukis and Golden Eagles will play for the series win on Monday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
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 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: Nigut, Alec (2-0)
L: BRAFA, Jack (1-1)
S: Wernsing, Gavan (1)
Batting:
2B: Schark, Matt 2 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 2 ; Nelis, Cade 1
3B: Bach, Jordan 1
HR: Lofton, Cecil 1 ; Schwalbach, Mason 1
RBI: Bach, Jordan 2 ; Lofton, Cecil 1 ; Schwalbach, Mason 2 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 3 ; Holder, Jaxon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lofton, Cecil 3 ; Schwalbach, Mason 1 ; Schark, Matt 2 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 1 ; Nelis, Cade 1 ; Holder, Jaxon 1
CS: Bach, Jordan 1
HBP: Mylott, Michael 1
Batting:
2B: STEELE, Preston 1
RBI: GREEN, Jackson 1
SH: LEE, Owen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: VRABEL, Carter 1
CS: ROOKER, Jackson 1
HBP: LEE, Owen 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
OF/INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C/INF
/ Baseball
LHP
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