Tuesday, March 18
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
13-6
6
vs
3
Western Illinois
5-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Western Illinois
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
3
7
1
Southern Illinois
0
0
3
1
0
2
0
0
X
6
9
0
Photo by: Abby Harris
Recap | Salukis Power Past Western Illinois, 6-3, Behind Schark’s Three-Run Blast
03/18/2025 | 9:16:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Behind a big third inning and solid pitching, Southern Illinois baseball secured a 6-3 victory over Western Illinois on Tuesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Salukis improved to 13-6 on the season, while the Leathernecks dropped to 5-12.
Senior infielder Matt Schark provided the offensive highlight of the night, crushing a three-run home run to left field in the third inning to give SIU an early 3-0 lead. The blast, which came on the first pitch of the at-bat – was his fifth home run of the season – and drove in Jordan Bach and Jaxon Holder.
The Salukis added another run in the fourth when Kaleb Hall ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line, scoring Cecil Lofton to extend the lead to 4-0.
Western Illinois battled back in the middle innings, breaking through in the fifth with a run on an infield single by Liam Bushey. In the sixth, Brock Lummus brought the Leathernecks within a run with a two-run homer to left-center, making it 4-3.
However, the Salukis responded quickly, taking advantage of a Western Illinois miscue. Bach hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Hall to advance to third, and after a walk loaded the bases, Gabe Petrucelli drew a free pass to push across an insurance run.
SIU's pitching staff held firm, led by starter Tyler Timmerman (2-1), who earned the win after 4.1 innings of work. He allowed just one run on four hits while striking out three. The bullpen took care of the rest, with five relievers combining to limit Western Illinois to two runs over the final 4.2 innings. Sam Frizzi closed the door in the ninth, earning his third save of the season.
The Salukis finished with nine hits on the night with Schark, Lofton, and Hall each collecting multiple hits. Western Illinois' Lummus went 3-for-3 with a homer to lead the Leathernecks.
UP NEXT
The Salukis open Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend at Itchy Jones Stadium with UIC coming to town. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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.
Senior infielder Matt Schark provided the offensive highlight of the night, crushing a three-run home run to left field in the third inning to give SIU an early 3-0 lead. The blast, which came on the first pitch of the at-bat – was his fifth home run of the season – and drove in Jordan Bach and Jaxon Holder.
The Salukis added another run in the fourth when Kaleb Hall ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line, scoring Cecil Lofton to extend the lead to 4-0.
Western Illinois battled back in the middle innings, breaking through in the fifth with a run on an infield single by Liam Bushey. In the sixth, Brock Lummus brought the Leathernecks within a run with a two-run homer to left-center, making it 4-3.
However, the Salukis responded quickly, taking advantage of a Western Illinois miscue. Bach hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Hall to advance to third, and after a walk loaded the bases, Gabe Petrucelli drew a free pass to push across an insurance run.
SIU's pitching staff held firm, led by starter Tyler Timmerman (2-1), who earned the win after 4.1 innings of work. He allowed just one run on four hits while striking out three. The bullpen took care of the rest, with five relievers combining to limit Western Illinois to two runs over the final 4.2 innings. Sam Frizzi closed the door in the ninth, earning his third save of the season.
The Salukis finished with nine hits on the night with Schark, Lofton, and Hall each collecting multiple hits. Western Illinois' Lummus went 3-for-3 with a homer to lead the Leathernecks.
UP NEXT
The Salukis open Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend at Itchy Jones Stadium with UIC coming to town. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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: Timmerman, Tyler (2-1)
L: Mason Telford (0-2)
S: Frizzi, Sam (3)
Batting:
2B: Krayton Morse 1 ; Trevor Leon 1
HR: Brock Lummus 1
RBI: Liam Bushey 1 ; Brock Lummus 2
SH: Trevor Leon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Krayton Morse 1 ; Brock Lummus 2
SB: Paul Osting 1
Batting:
2B: Lemm, John 1 ; Lofton, Cecil 1
3B: Hall, Kaleb 1
HR: Schark, Matt 1
RBI: Bach, Jordan 1 ; Schark, Matt 3 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1
SF: Bach, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bach, Jordan 1 ; Schark, Matt 1 ; Lofton, Cecil 1 ; Simay, Tim 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1 ; Holder, Jaxon 1
SB: Petrucelli, Gabe 1 ; Holder, Jaxon 1
CS: Schark, Matt 2
HBP: Petrucelli, Gabe 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
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