April 30, 2021

By John T. Lock

SIU Athletics

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Salukis drove in all three of its runs with two outs and played error-free defense behind outstanding pitching in a 3-2 win in the series opener over Missouri State Bears on Friday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.

“I’m really happy with a complete game,” SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. “We’ve been fighting it a little bit as a team, in terms of putting it all together. When you look at the pitching, one guy after another came into pressure moments and got out of them, cruised for a little bit, and then passed it along to the next guy. Defensively, that was probably one of the most complete games we’ve had. We ran down some balls in the outfield; we turned four double plays to get us out of innings. Offensively, we executed a game plan as well as we could ask. We were unlucky for the first four innings; we squared up some baseballs but didn’t have a hit to show for it. I’m proud of the guys for hanging in there and not getting discouraged. It was one of those Friday games where you know the score will be low.”

The Salukis (28-12, 7-10 MVC) played well in every aspect of the game. Defensively, SIU was error-free and turned four double plays in the game’s first six innings. Offensively, SIU had hard contact early, but right at people, until breaking through with a pair of two-out RBI singles in the fifth inning. On the mound, Mike Hansell, Tanner Lewis, Bubba Hall, and Trey McDaniel were all terrific.

Missouri State (15-12, 5-4 MVC) also played clean ball. MSU starter Logan Wiley had a quality start, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings. When SIU finally broke through with its two-run fifth, Missouri State immediately answered with a run in the sixth.

SIU’s two-run fifth was thanks to a pair of clutch hits. With two outs, J.T. Weber roped an RBI single into centre field. Weber then stole second and scored on a Tristan Peters RBI single.

That sixth inning was the turning point. MSU hit a leadoff homer to get within 2-1. Then, the next two batters reached to put the potential go-ahead run on base with nobody out. With a 2-0 count on MSU star Jack Duffy, SIU reliever Bubba Hall was summoned from the bullpen and struck out Duffy on three-straight pitches, then induced a double-play to get out of the inning unscathed and keep SIU in the lead.

The game-deciding run was scored in the bottom of the seventh. With Weber on first base, Nick Neville worked a 10-pitch at-bat that included a rope down the right field line that was less than five feet foul. Neville was ultimately retired, but the Salukis finally caught some good fortune when Peters (Winkler, Man.) hit a similar line drive that landed right on the foul-line and got all the way into the corner. Weber scored from first to give SIU a 3-1 lead.

Peters leads all Canucks as well as all the Salukis with a .359 average 40 games as well as 14 doubles, two triples, two homers and 37 RBIs. Besides going 12-for-13 in stolen bases, Peters owns a .991 OPS in 30 games.