Southern Illinois University
18-7, 3-1
Bradley
3-18, 0-4
Recap | Southern offense makes history, scores 25 runs as win streak reaches five
03/28/2025 | 11:00:00 | Baseball
The Braves (3-18, 0-4 MVC) held a quick 2-0 lead in the contest, getting to Saluki starter Jackson Payne with a two-run double from Mason Breidenbach.
The lead would be short-lived, as Payne began to settle in and pave the way for the offense which began its onslaught with a five-run second inning. Cecil Lofton and Jaxon Holder each knocked in two RBIs, and Jordan Bach cranked his third home run of the season with a solo shot over the right-field wall.
Gabe Petrucelli added another homer to his ledger in the top of the fourth, with a solo blast of his own to put Southern up 6-2.
A seven-run fifth had the Salukis gunning for their fifth mercy-rule victory of the season. Michael Mylott put a ball over the center field wall for a two-run home run against his former school, and Kaleb Hall collected four of his five RBIs with a grand slam to left.
Down 13-2 entering the bottom of the fifth, Bradley began to mount a furious comeback. One of Cole Smith's five hits was an RBI single, and after Breidenbach's third RBI the Braves used patience to walk home three more runs and shrink the lead to six. Smith would add another RBI and score on a wild pitch in the sixth to bring the Braves within four. Even after Mylott's sacrifice fly in the seventh for Southern, Smith continued to close the gap with two more RBIs on his third RBI single of the game.
It what was all of a sudden a 14-11 nailbiter heading into the ninth. Looking for some breathing room, Southern would redefine insurance runs with 11 crossing the plate in the frame.
John Lemm had 5 RBIs in the inning, getting the first two with a single, and the final three on an RBI double down the right-field line. Matt Schark and Tim Simay each had two RBIs to help reach the quarter-century mark. The Salukis began the ninth with 14 runs and would win by that margin when the final out was recorded.
Gavan Wernsing (1-0) earned the victory after three innings pitched and two runs allowed out of the bullpen. Matt Irvine closed the game by striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth.
Cole Smith went 5-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored for the Braves. Eli Lehrman dropped to 0-3 after two innings pitched.
UP NEXT
The Salukis and Braves will reconvene for a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday. Follow both games with live stats, and tune in to game two on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wernsing, Gavan (1-0)
L: E. Lehrman (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Lemm, John 2 ; Simay, Tim 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1 ; Lofton, Cecil 1
3B: Schark, Matt 1
HR: Bach, Jordan 1 ; Mylott, Michael 1 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1
RBI: Bach, Jordan 2 ; Schark, Matt 2 ; Mylott, Michael 3 ; Lemm, John 5 ; Simay, Tim 2 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 5 ; Lofton, Cecil 2 ; Holder, Jaxon 3
SF: Bach, Jordan 1 ; Mylott, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bach, Jordan 2 ; Schark, Matt 3 ; Mylott, Michael 1 ; Quick, Michael 2 ; Lemm, John 2 ; Simay, Tim 3 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 4 ; Hall, Kaleb 3 ; Lofton, Cecil 4 ; Holder, Jaxon 1
SB: Simay, Tim 1
CS: Holder, Jaxon 1
HBP: Schark, Matt 1 ; Mylott, Michael 1 ; Petrucelli, Gabe 1
Batting:
2B: C. Smith 2 ; M. Breidenba 1 ; B. Atkinson 1
3B: J. Smith 1
RBI: C. Smith 4 ; M. Breidenba 3 ; B. Durbin 1 ; N. Hosie 1 ; T. O'Brien 1
SH: J. Smith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Smith 3 ; C. Smith 3 ; M. Breidenba 1 ; B. Atkinson 1 ; M. Ball 1 ; T. O'Brien 1 ; C. Trask 1
HBP: J. Smith 1 ; B. Atkinson 1
