Perfect 3-for-3 day as Peters helps Southern Illinois to another win
Former Pembina Valley Oriole and Okotoks Dawg OF Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) went 3-for-3 for the streaking SIU Salukis.
March 7, 2021
Official Southern Illinois University Athletics Press Release
Salukis sweep UTM, run winning streak to 16-straight
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Salukis matched its best start in program history with an 8-3 win over UT Martin at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Salukis improved to 11-0, matching the 1967 team for best start in program history.
The Salukis have won 16-straight games dating back to last season, which is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in school history and the longest since 1990. SIU is the first team in the nation to reach 11-0 this season.
“A lot has to do with the culture we have. I’ve said this a ton of times: We have so many mature, older players in the program that show up every single day,” SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. “They’re the ones that are leading this team right now. It’s fun to be able to sit back and watch and see them come to work every single day, putting in the effort that it takes to be successful. They’ve done a lot of behind-the-scenes work that people who watch them on game day don’t get to see, how much time that they put into their practice between Monday and Thursday. It’s nice to see them get rewarded for the hard work that they’ve put into it. They’re good people; they’re good players; and they work their butts off.”
The Salukis and Skyhawks (3-6) were in a pitcher’s duel in the early innings until the Salukis broke through with a three-run third inning. Austin Ulick got it started by tripling off the top of the right field wall after working an 11-pitch at-bat. That turned over the lineup to give SIU’s vaunted top of the order another chance at UTM starter Eric Steensma, who started the game by retiring seven of the first eight hitters he faced -- four by strikeout. But the second time through was a different story. Ian Walters drove home Ulick. Evan Martin drew a walk. Tristan Peters drove home Walters with an RBI single, and then Peters and Martin perfectly executed a first-and-third steal to score a third run and give SIU a 3-0 lead.
UTM’s fifth-inning run brought the Skyhawks within 3-1, but SIU broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Walters led off with a single. Nick Neville singled and made a heads-up baserunning play advancing to second while Walters beat a throw to third base. Peters (Winkler, Man.) followed with a three-run homer to give SIU a 6-1 lead, and two batters later, Philip Archer hit a solo homer to give SIU a 7-1 lead.
“(Peters) has been clutch all year, really, hitting in the middle of the order,” Rhodes said. “He’s a high on-base guy. He has a high contact rate. He’s not going to strike out a ton. He also has surprising power, which we’ve seen several times throughout the year. That was a big swing in the game.”
Peters has an active nine-game hitting streak and has eight multi-hit games this season, including four-straight multi-hit games.
Matthew Steidl, Bubba Hall, Braden Babcock (Oshawa, Ont.) and Trey McDaniel closed out the final three innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Babcock worked the eighth allowing one run on three hits, while he struck out a pair.