Peters doubles twice, scores three to help Salukis to doubleheader sweep

Okotoks Dawgs alum Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) had two doubles and three runs on Saturday to help the Southern Illinois Salukis to a doubleheader sweep. Photo: SIU Athletics (File photo)

April 10, 2021

By John T. Lock

SIU Athletics

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The SIU baseball team beat Northern Illinois and Bellarmine in a doubleheader on Saturday at Itchy Jones Stadium.

The Salukis overcame a six-run sixth-inning deficit to beat NIU 13-12, and then scored 10 runs in the first three innings en route to a 14-6 win over Bellarmine in the nightcap. SIU improved to 23-6 with the two wins.

In the first game, NIU (5-20) held a 9-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. The Salukis got four runs back -- three on a Philip Archer homer and one more on Cody Cleveland's first career home run. But the Huskies answered right back with a three-run seventh to push its lead to 12-7. SIU pushed a run across in the bottom of the seventh to get within 12-8, and Trey McDaniel steadied the Salukis on the mound with a scoreless top of the eighth.

SIU's winning rally started in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff double by Vinni Massaglia. Cody Cleveland and Tony Rask followed with back-to-back singles to bring the tying run to the plate. Brad Hudson drove home a run with a single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Nick Neville drew a walk to load the bases. Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) hit a sacrifice fly to get the Salukis within 12-11, and then J.T. Weber came through with the biggest at-bat of the game: a two-out, full-count double down the left field line that scored Hudson and Neville and gave SIU a 13-12 lead. McDaniel nailed down the win with a scoreless ninth.

"We were able to stay in the game when it looked like we were dead in the water," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "The offense just kept chipping away. It never felt like you were out of it with the weather conditions. The wind was gusting out to left field; it felt like you were just a hit away, especially with free bases. A lot of that (free bases) had to do with pitchers on both sides being afraid to come into the middle of the plate. They knew if they did, with the weather conditions, weak contact was going over the fence. We talked about our pitchers not being afraid to go in there. It was the walks, the hit-by-pitches, and then the hits that got it. We had a bunch of people who got on in front, and J.T. got the big knock down the third-base line. In the dugout, it never felt like we weren't going to win it. I don't know why it felt like that, but somebody had to get the big hit, and J.T. delivered."

The Salukis faced Bellarmine (10-18) in the second game and put the game away early. SIU scored two runs in the first inning, three in the second, and five in the third to take a 10-0 lead. During one stretch during the doubleheader, SIU scored 20 runs in just six innings (10 in the final three innings of the first game, and 10 more in the first three innings of the second game).

"We were super-locked in at the beginning of the game," Rhodes said of the Bellarmine game. "I was most disappointed in the fact that we had the game in hand. Whether it was me making some changes to the lineup, I'm not sure if we felt like the game was over with at that time and our minds tended to wander. They're a Division I opponent, and all of the sudden, they're right back in the game. We tried to flip it back on, but it's hard to flip it off and flip it back on in the game. It doesn't matter who we play or what the score is, who's in the lineup, we need to play a complete game. Two good wins. A long day. We battled some elements with the weather, but I'm proud of the guys."

Brad Harrison allowed just one run on two hits through five innings against Bellarmine but ran into trouble in the sixth. The Knights ended up with a four-run sixth to get within 10-5, and then added an unearned run in the seventh to get within 10-6. But Brad Hudson hit a homer in SIU's half of the seventh, and the Salukis followed that with a three-run eighth to set the final score at 14-6. Dylan Givens pitched the final three innings without issuing a walk or allowing an earned run to earn his first career save.

"We wanted someone someone who was going to force contact and not give them free passes, because the wind was still blowing pretty good in the second game," Rhodes said of Givens. "It never felt like 5, 6, 7 or 8 runs was enough. It never felt like the game was out of hand. It was nice that Dylan came in and did what he's done all year long: pound the strike zone and make the other team earn it."

Up and down the lineup, SIU's offense was dominant. In the two games combined, SIU hit .419 with 10 doubles, a triple, and six homers. Six Salukis hit .400 or better in the doubleheader: Hudson was 5-for-6 with a homer; Cleveland was 6-for-9 with a double and two homers; Tony Rask was 4-for-6 to raise his season batting average to .536; J.T. Weber went 3-for-7 with a double, a homer and 7 RBIs, including the game-winning two-run double against NIU; Ian Walters was 3-for-8 with two doubles; and Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) was 2-for-5 with two doubles and four walks.

UP NEXT: SIU hosts NIU on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Itchy Jones Stadium. The game is the final game in a 12-game home stand, and a stretch of 23 out of 24 games at home.

NOTES: SIU has scored 42 runs in its last three games. SIU ranks second in the nation, averaging 9.1 runs per game ... SIU's 23 wins are the eighth-most in the nation ... SIU is 16-6 at Itchy Jones Stadium this year and 21-6 at home under head coach Lance Rhodes ... SIU is 52-19 in its last 71 home games, dating back to 2018 ... SIU has hit 51 home runs this season, already the most by any Saluki team in a season since 2010 ... Ian Walters (14 games), Nick Neville (13 games), and Tony Rask (11 games) extended their on-base streaks ... Rask (9 games), Tristan Peters (8 games), and Cody Cleveland (7 games) extended their hitting streaks ... SIU has scored 10+ runs in a game 13 times this season and scored 8+ runs 19 times in its 29 games ... With the two games today, SIU officially passed the halfway mark of the regular season (have played 29 of 55 scheduled regular-season games).