SIU Defeats Belmont 9-4 behind Shepard, Balanced Offense

Saturday, May 9

Nashville, TN

2 PM

Southern Illinois University

20-28, 11-9

Belmont

19-31, 9-11

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Ill.	0	3	2	1	0	0	0	3	0	9	14	0
Belmont	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	4	9	0

Troy Shepard deals a pitch during Southern Illinois' 2-1 victory over Indiana State Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.

Photo by: Zuzanna Gaik

05/09/2026 | 10:19:00 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Troy Shepard's eight complete innings combined with nine runs on 14 hits from the offense helped SIU roll to a 9-4 victory over Belmont Saturday in Nashville.

Shepard and fellow starter Andrew Evans now have a combined four starts of eight complete innings pitched this season (two each), the first time a combination of SIU pitchers has accomplished that feat since 2019.

The lone blemish on Shepard's ledger was a leadoff homer by Charlie Davis in the bottom of the first. From there, he and the Salukis settled into an all-around big performance.

Jaden Flores hit his second big fly of the weekend in the top of the second, immediately putting SIU in front 3-1. Gabe Petrucelli and Kye Watson each had RBI doubles in the third and fourth, and the Salukis led 6-1 after four.

Shepard cruised through the middle innings, making clutch pitches when a runner came into scoring position. He retired nine in a row between the fifth and eight innings.

Julio Guerrero and Jacob McKenzie knocked in runs in the eighth, and Kye Watson scored SIU's final run on a balk. Shepard worked through traffic in the eighth, finishing his day with eight complete on 91 pitches, striking out six and walking just one.

The Bruins added three runs in the ninth, but to no avail as Southern clinched a series win with a 9-4 win on the road.

Tim Simay and Mason Schwalbach spent most of their day on the basepaths, tallying three hits and two runs each.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will look to sweep the Bruins Sunday at 1 p.m.

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