Southern Comes Back to Tie in Ninth, App State Walks it Off

Sunday, February 22

Boone, NC

12 PM

Southern Illinois University

1-5

Appalachian State

6-1

Southern Ill.

App State

Gavan Wernsing

Photo by: Abby Harris

02/22/2026 | 9:58:00 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

HICKORY, N.C. - After being down by six entering the seventh inning, Southern Illinois made up the deficit over the next three frames, only for Appalachian State to walk off the Salukis 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth. Sunday's loss marks Southern's fifth consecutive defeat, and the second day in a row where they fell on a walk-off.

A game that lasted more than four hours was largely aided by the combined 16 walks, eight on each side.

The free passes began early, as Cecil Lofton and Jacob McKenzie earned RBIs on walks with the bases loaded to put the Salukis up 2-0 in the top of the first. The 28 pitches and three walks from App State's Grant Gardner were enough to force him from the game after getting just one out. Still with the bases juiced, SIU could not add on an important two outs that would prove costly later on.

Saluki starting pitcher Ryan Halamicek was dialed in through the first two innings, but the Mountaineers broke through in the third as Ethan Puig roped an RBI double down the left field line. He was replaced by Charlie Lardi in the bottom of the fourth, ending with 3.1 innings pitched with one run on four hits allowed and three strikeouts.

SIU's bullpen struggled in the fifth and sixth as App State tallied a combined seven runs to blow the game open and hold an 8-2 advantage heading into the seventh inning.

Kristian Sprawling awoke Southern's bats with an RBI double to make it 8-3, setting the table for Cecil Lofton to bring him and Kye Watson home with a three-run blast to right center. The home run was Lofton's second of the year and brought SIU within two at 8-6.

The bullpen held serve, and Watson added another run with a clutch RBI single with two outs in the eighth.

Dawson Hargrove kept Southern in the game, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings with the final two outs of the sixth and all three outs in the seventh and eighth innings.

A hit by pitch and two walks helped Southern load the bases with a chance to tie or take the lead in the top of the ninth. Down to his team's final out, Gabe Petrucelli hit a ground ball to first, but the senior beat out the flip as the tying run scored.

All knotted up 8-8 entering the bottom of the ninth with Jack MacIntosh on the mound, the right-hander induced a flyout to lead off the inning before things got tricky in a hurry. After a walk, an error trying to get Bret Clements for a force at second let him go to third, giving the Mountaineers a runner in scoring position with less than two outs. MacIntosh struck out Jonathan Xuereb for the second out, but Joseph Zamora put the ball in play to third, just enough time for Clements to come across and score the winning run on a fielder's choice.

MacIntosh took the loss, allowing the unearned run in the ninth.

UP NEXT
SIU comes back to Carbondale for its home opener at Itchy Jones Stadium against Miami University on Wednesday, Feb. 25. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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