May 9, 2022

By William Becque

Southern Illinois University Athletics

The Southern Illinois University baseball team scored four unanswered runs, capped off by a go-ahead solo home run by Pier Olivier-Boucher (Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Que.) to lead off the 10th inning, to pick up the 4-3 comeback win over Missouri State on Sunday.

The win punctuated SIU's three-game sweep of the Bears and Southern has now won nine straight over Missouri State under third-year head coach Lance Rhodes.

Boucher's go-ahead blast was his sixth home run of the season and gave Southern its first lead of the day. Matthew Steidl locked down his sixth save of the season after he retired the three batters he faced in order. Nathan Bandy made a jumping catch at the centre field wall for the game's final out to seal the comeback win for the Salukis.

Trey McDaniel was outstanding in relief to earn his team-best seventh win of the season. McDaniel improved to 7-1 on the season after he threw a career-high 6 1/3 innings and allowed just one hit. He struck out four and walked two.

Down to its last out in the top of the ninth, the Salukis caught two-out lightning. Jack Rigoni hit a check-swing two-out single to move Grey Epps to third, who had been hit by pitch to reach base earlier in the frame. J.T. Weber hit the first pitch he saw for an RBI-single to tie the game 3-3. Trey McDaniel got three fly ball outs to get SIU to the 10th inning and Boucher delivered the game-winning hit Southern needed.

The Salukis were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position until the top of the seventh when the bottom of the order helped cut SIU's deficit to one. Grey Epps laced a single up the middle to score Boucher and Nick Hagedorn followed with a RBI-double to score Epps. Southern could have potentially had room for more in the frame, as a review overturned an Evan Martin infield hit that he appeared to have beaten out.

Missouri State used a single, an error and a two-out wild pitch to plate a run in the bottom of the first. The Bears added to their lead in the bottom of the third after they used a leadoff walk and a two-run home run from Mason Hall to go ahead 3-0.

Southern's bats got off to a slow start, as SIU managed just one hit but worked five walks off the combination of MSU's Ty Buckner and Riyan Rodriguez through six innings. But SIU's potent offence didn't stay down for long, as it tallied six hits in the final four innings of the game.

The Salukis are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Edwardsville, Ill. to take on the SIUE Cougars.