Southern Comes Back to Tie UT Martin in Eighth, Falls 7-6 in Extras

Wednesday, March 18

6 PM

Southern Illinois University

8-11

UT Martin

10-10

UT Martin

Southern Ill.

Jackson Dibble anticipates a pitch during Southern's narrow 7-6 loss to UT Martin in extra innings Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.

Photo by: Zuzanna Gaik

Southern Comes Back to Tie UT Martin in Eighth, Falls 7-6 in Extras

03/18/2026 | 11:47:00 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - SIU was down multiple runs late and came back to tie, but UT Martin scored a run in extras and held on to defeat the Salukis 7-6 on Wednesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.

Both offenses came out hot, as UT Martin tallied two first-inning runs, and an RBI double from Kaleb Hall got a run back for Southern.

The Skyhawks then took advantage of an SIU throwing error and wild pitch to score three runs in the second, capped by a steal of home where they sacrificed a runner caught stealing at second base. Leading the Ohio Valley Conference with 53 stolen bases heading into the night, UT Martin stole eight more on Wednesday night.

Jaden Flores brought in Southern's second run with a sacrifice fly in the second, but despite the hot start, both offenses went quiet over the next four innings.

UTM's Cason Sharp lived up to his name for the majority of his appearance, taking over in the third and allowing just two baserunners through his first three innings of work.

A throwing error helped Jacob McKenzie reach base in the sixth with one away, and he advanced to second on a single from Bryce Habuda. Flores then singled to left center to try and bring McKenzie home, but McKenzie was cut down by a perfect throw from center fielder Garner Anderson. After a big assist from his defense, a groundout from Jackson Dibble helped Sharp leave the inning unscathed.

That run would prove crucial as the game progressed. The Skyhawks got back on the board with a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth to go up by four.

Small ball and patience were Southern's key to knocking Sharp out of the game. To begin the bottom of the seventh, Julio Guerrero laid down a perfect bunt, and after a walk of Tim Simay and a single from Hall, SIU suddenly brought the tying run to the plate. Henry Kufa took a bases-loaded walk to bring in SIU's first run of the frame, and while pinch-hitters Michael Mylott and Mason Schwalbach had run-scoring at bats, both came at the cost of an out, and Southern still trailed by one after Habuda grounded out to end the inning.

The Salukis received an impressive outing from their bullpen in the middle innings. A combination of Josh Hyneman, Dylan Petrey, Tyson Greene, Dawson Hargrove, Charlie Miller and Jack MacIntosh combined to allow just one run over the final 7.2 innings of regulation, setting the table for their offense to play complementary baseball and tie the game.

On his 23rd birthday, Simay came through in the clutch with two outs in the eighth, scoring Jaden Flores on an opposite-field single to tie the game at six.

Both teams went down quickly in the ninth, sending SIU to its first extra-inning game of the season.

The Salukis walked the first three batters to begin the 10th, and after Gio de Graauw earned a strikeout, he induced a ground ball to second base, but Habuda could not control the ball in time to turn the double play and settled for an out at first as UT Martin retook the lead.

Control was a concern for the Skyhawks in the bottom of the inning, putting pressure on themselves by hitting and walking back-to-back batters after a flyout to start the inning. Jaden Flores and Jackson Dibble narrowly executed a double-steal to put the winning run in scoring position, but pinch-hitter Gabe Petrucelli's line drive was caught on the run by second baseman Andrew Davis to end the game.

Mason Little earned the win for UTM, while Gabe Bryant tallied his first save of the season. Matt Irvine (L, 0-1) took the loss, responsible for the go-ahead run in the 10th.

Flores, Guerrero, Habuda and Hall each had multi-hit games for SIU. Dylan Petrey had two shutout innings with three strikeouts out of the bullpen

UP NEXT
The Salukis begin Missouri Valley Conference play with a trip to UIC on Friday for a three-game set.

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