Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Thursday, May 21
Murray, KY
1:45 PM
Southern Illinois University
24-31
1
vs
11
UIC
25-27-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Ill. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Ill.-Chicago | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | X | 11 | 9 | 0 |
Charlie Miller celebrates a strikeout during Southern Illinois' 3-2 win over Evansville at the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament Thursaday, May 21, 2026, in Murray, Ky.
Photo by: Abby Harris
Miller's Gem, Defense Help Southern Split Thursday to Stay Alive
05/22/2026 | 1:54:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - After dropping the first game of the day to top-seeded UIC, Southern Illinois baseball was able to stave off elimination with a 3-2 victory over Evansville Thursday night at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Ky.
Game One: UIC 11, Southern Illinois 1 (7)
The Flames wasted no time getting to Southern's Troy Shepard, as Thomas Curry's two-run homer in the first was merely a sign of things to come.
Jacob McKenzie knocked in an RBI single in the second, but the Saluki offense failed to add another run. UIC continued to slug and eventually took a 10-run lead in the sixth. SIU was then retired without a run in the seventh, which ended the game prematurely.
Shepard (L, 4-4) took the loss.
Game Two: Southern Illinois 3, Evansville 2
Both offenses looked sluggish at the beginning of the 9:20 p.m. contest, where the teams began their second games of the day.
The Salukis had runners on, but were unable to cash in early. UE's Reagan Reeder took matters into his own hands in the top of the fourth, blasting a two-run homer to give his team the lead.
Southern's Charlie Miller put a heroic effort on display, doubling his season-high with eight innings pitched on the day, with just the two runs allowed. He received incredible defense behind him, with Jaden Flores and Tim Simay making dazzling plays to keep the Purple Aces off the board.
McKenzie's second RBI of the day gave Southern its first run of game two in the sixth after forcing UE's Tanner Graham from the game. After a successful sacrifice bunt from Gabe Petrucelli, Flores brought in his first baseman with a sac fly to tie the game.
The game entered the bottom of the eighth knotted up at two. With one away, McKenzie and Petrucelli teamed up with back-to-back singles to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. A ground ball to the left side from Jaden Flores forced shortstop Drew McConnell into trying to get a force out at third, but the throw was offline and allowed pinch-runner Jackson Dibble to cross the plate and give Southern its first lead of the day.
Head Coach Lance Rhodes turned to Meade Johnson to try and get the final three outs, and the Mattoon native came through, striking out three to collect his fourth save and keep the Salukis alive.
Charlie Miller (W, 1-2) earned the victory for SIU after eight innings pitched and two runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
UP NEXT
Southern will play Indiana State in an elimination game Friday at Johnny Reagan Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 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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Game One: UIC 11, Southern Illinois 1 (7)
The Flames wasted no time getting to Southern's Troy Shepard, as Thomas Curry's two-run homer in the first was merely a sign of things to come.
Jacob McKenzie knocked in an RBI single in the second, but the Saluki offense failed to add another run. UIC continued to slug and eventually took a 10-run lead in the sixth. SIU was then retired without a run in the seventh, which ended the game prematurely.
Shepard (L, 4-4) took the loss.
Game Two: Southern Illinois 3, Evansville 2
Both offenses looked sluggish at the beginning of the 9:20 p.m. contest, where the teams began their second games of the day.
The Salukis had runners on, but were unable to cash in early. UE's Reagan Reeder took matters into his own hands in the top of the fourth, blasting a two-run homer to give his team the lead.
Southern's Charlie Miller put a heroic effort on display, doubling his season-high with eight innings pitched on the day, with just the two runs allowed. He received incredible defense behind him, with Jaden Flores and Tim Simay making dazzling plays to keep the Purple Aces off the board.
McKenzie's second RBI of the day gave Southern its first run of game two in the sixth after forcing UE's Tanner Graham from the game. After a successful sacrifice bunt from Gabe Petrucelli, Flores brought in his first baseman with a sac fly to tie the game.
The game entered the bottom of the eighth knotted up at two. With one away, McKenzie and Petrucelli teamed up with back-to-back singles to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. A ground ball to the left side from Jaden Flores forced shortstop Drew McConnell into trying to get a force out at third, but the throw was offline and allowed pinch-runner Jackson Dibble to cross the plate and give Southern its first lead of the day.
Head Coach Lance Rhodes turned to Meade Johnson to try and get the final three outs, and the Mattoon native came through, striking out three to collect his fourth save and keep the Salukis alive.
Charlie Miller (W, 1-2) earned the victory for SIU after eight innings pitched and two runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
UP NEXT
Southern will play Indiana State in an elimination game Friday at Johnny Reagan Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 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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Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Mason Lei (8-4)
L: Shepard, Troy (4-4)
Batting:
RBI: McKenzie, Jacob 1
SH: Petrucelli, Gabe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mylott, Michael 1
CS: Sprawling, Kristian 1
Batting:
HR: Ashton Kampa 1 ; Thomas Curry 1 ; Jake Busson 1 ; Will Flanigan 1
RBI: Ashton Kampa 3 ; Lucas Smith 1 ; Thomas Curry 4 ; Jake Busson 2 ; Will Flanigan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashton Kampa 3 ; Thomas Curry 2 ; Jake Busson 1 ; Sean Cody 1 ; Will Flanigan 3 ; Gavin Acosta 1
SB: Jake Busson 1
HBP: Ashton Kampa 1 ; Jake Busson 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
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