Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saturday, April 11
Evansville, IN
2 PM
Southern Illinois University
12-21, 3-5
3
at
7
Evansville
13-19, 6-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Ill. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Evansville | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | X | 7 | 8 | 3 |
Jace Kirby sets for a pitch during SIU's 6-5 loss against SEMO Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.
Photo by: Dani Scott
Southern drops Saturday Bout with Purple Aces, 7-3
04/11/2026 | 8:18:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois baseball fell 7-3 in Saturday afternoon's game at Evansville. The loss drops SIU to 12-21 overall, and 3-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Southpaw Troy Shepard started the contest for SIU, and was largely solid outside of a three-run blip in the second inning. A two-out, two-run double was the back breaker, putting the Salukis in a 3-0 hole early.
Cecil Lofton and Henry Kufa added an RBI in the third and fourth innings, respectively, but SIU could not manage to tally the big hit with runners on and trailed 3-2 after four.
Evansville went back up by two in the fifth, but Kaleb Hall immediately got the run back with a solo homer in the top of the sixth, his second of the season.
A combined six walks and hit-by-pitches by the Saluki bullpen in the sixth and seventh innings paved the way for three UE runs that all but put the game out of reach.
SIU could not generate any more runs and dropped the game 7-3 to lose the series.
Kyle Mager had three hits on the day with two doubles, his first multi-hit game as a Saluki.
Troy Shepard (L, 1-3) took the loss after 4.2 innings pitched and four earned runs while striking out six.
Tanner Graham and Chris McCormack combined to allow just one earned run for the Purple Aces.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will try to salvage the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter 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.
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Southpaw Troy Shepard started the contest for SIU, and was largely solid outside of a three-run blip in the second inning. A two-out, two-run double was the back breaker, putting the Salukis in a 3-0 hole early.
Cecil Lofton and Henry Kufa added an RBI in the third and fourth innings, respectively, but SIU could not manage to tally the big hit with runners on and trailed 3-2 after four.
Evansville went back up by two in the fifth, but Kaleb Hall immediately got the run back with a solo homer in the top of the sixth, his second of the season.
A combined six walks and hit-by-pitches by the Saluki bullpen in the sixth and seventh innings paved the way for three UE runs that all but put the game out of reach.
SIU could not generate any more runs and dropped the game 7-3 to lose the series.
Kyle Mager had three hits on the day with two doubles, his first multi-hit game as a Saluki.
Troy Shepard (L, 1-3) took the loss after 4.2 innings pitched and four earned runs while striking out six.
Tanner Graham and Chris McCormack combined to allow just one earned run for the Purple Aces.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will try to salvage the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter 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.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tanner Graham (2-2)
L: Shepard, Troy (1-3)
S: Chris McCormack (1)
Batting:
2B: Mager, Kyle 2
HR: Hall, Kaleb 1
RBI: Kufa, Henry 1 ; Lofton, Cecil 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1
SF: Lofton, Cecil 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Flores, Jaden 1 ; Hall, Kaleb 1 ; Farnum, Xavier 1
HBP: Petrucelli, Gabe 1
Batting:
2B: Drew McConnell 1 ; Mason McCue 1
RBI: Spike Magill 1 ; Reid Haire 1 ; Ximi Baftiri 1 ; Drew McConnell 1 ; Mason McCue 2 ; Simon Schulz 1
SH: Mason McCue 1
SF: Reid Haire 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Spike Magill 1 ; Reagan Reeder 1 ; Aaron Nehls 2 ; Drew McConnell 3
SB: Spike Magill 1 ; Aaron Nehls 1 ; Drew McConnell 1
HBP: Harrison Taubert 1 ; Simon Schulz 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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