Peters' two-run single, diving catch helps Salukis to win
Okotoks Dawgs alum Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) had a two-run single and a diving catch to help the Southern Illinois Salukis to a 10-7 over Little Rock on Friday. Photo: SIU Athletics
March 26, 2021
By John T. Lock
University of Southern Illinois Athletics
CARBONDALE, Ill. - J.T. Weber threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the eighth inning, and the No. 22-ranked SIU baseball team scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to take the series opener from Little Rock 10-7 on Friday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.
SIU improved to 19-1 on the season, and its 19 wins lead the nation.
"It was such an emotional game," SIU head coach Lance Rhodes said. "They're a really good team. We're a really good team. Both teams knew it was going to be a good matchup because of how well both teams were playing. It was one of those offensive battles. It seemed like the momentum was swinging from one side to the next. It was sloppy on both ends at times, but there were huge plays, as well, some game-changing type plays. It was awesome to see our guys go down early against a really good team, fight back, and then get into a back-and-forth battle and hang in there emotionally and give ourselves a chance to win."
In a wild back-and-forth game that featured Little Rock clawing back from deficits to tie the game three times, SIU (19-1) threw the last punch. Little Rock (9-8) hit a three-run homer in the second inning, and SIU responded with two-run singles by both Evan Martin and Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) in the second inning to take a 4-3 lead.
The Trojans tied the game in the top of the fourth, and the Salukis again took a lead, thanks to Cody Cleveland and Ian Walters RBIs in the bottom half of the inning. Again, Little Rock tied the game, this time with a two-run homer in the fifth inning that knotted the game at 6-6. Again, SIU took the lead in the bottom half, on a Vinni Massaglia solo homer. The Trojans tied the game yet again in the seventh with an unearned run by an SIU error, which set up the dramatic finish.
"The biggest key was never letting them take the lead again," Rhodes said. "They came back and would tie it, but it felt like we would take the lead again. It comes back to some big pitches at the right time and some big defensive plays at the right time."
Both teams turned to their best bullpen arms to finish the game. Little Rock's Aaron Funk came into the game 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA and two saves in seven appearances. SIU's Trey McDaniel was 5-for-5 in save opportunities and owns 24 career saves. In the eighth inning, Little Rock managed a leadoff single against McDaniel and had that runner at second base with one out. Kenny Rodriguez hit a single to left field, but SIU's J.T. Weber fired a strike to the plate to gun down the would-be go-ahead run at home and keep the game tied.
"To me, that was the game," Rhodes said of Weber's throw. "If they take the lead right there, and we had Trey (McDaniel) in the game, the momentum swings pretty heavily towards their side. It feels like they hit it to the right guy in the outfield every single time. He's made three or four huge throws in really tough situations. He doesn't cave under the pressure. He has a super accurate arm. He puts it right on the money. And as good of throws as he makes, it's not an easy play to sit there and receive that throw when a runner is bearing down on you as well. Everybody gets recognition for the throw, but you have to give AU (Austin Ulick) credit for hanging in there and catching the ball and applying the tag at the same time. It's a really good play all around."
In the bottom half of the eighth inning, Philip Archer started SIU's rally with a leadoff single. Austin Ulick hit a one-out single to give the Salukis two on with one out. The runners moved up on a passed ball, and Grey Epps broke the tie with a sacrifice fly that gave SIU an 8-7 lead. Ian Walters handed McDaniel a pair of insurance runs with a no-doubt two-run homer three pitches later.
"It was a good night to be an offensive player," Rhodes said. "The biggest factor was probably free bases on both sides, but that's a factor of a tighter strike zone and the ball carrying well. It's easy as a pitcher to try to dodge the strike zone. The biggest thing for me was how competitive we were. They were super-competitive on their end, as well. It's nice. We need to be challenged as a team at this point in the year. We need to see how good we are, and tonight was a really good challenge."
McDaniel pitched a perfect ninth to give the Salukis their fifth-straight win. In an offensive 10-7 game, there were plenty of defensive highlights, as well. Tristan Peters made an incredible head-first diving catch in right centre. Austin Ulick threw out a would-be base stealer. Weber threw out a runner at the plate for a third-consecutive weekend, and Ian Walters made a slick play in the ninth on an infield chopper.
UP NEXT: The teams square off again Saturday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. Ben Chapman will take the mound for SIU.
NOTES: Little Rock came into the game 9-0 when it held a lead at any point, prior to SIU overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win tonight ... SIU is 24-1 in its last 25 games, dating back to last year ... SIU is 12-1 at Itchy Jones Stadium this season and 17-1 at home under head coach Lance Rhodes ... SIU is 48-14 in its last 62 home games, dating back to 2018 ... Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) extended his reached base streak to 18 games and Evan Martin extended his reached base streak to 11 games ... SIU improved to 2-0 all-time vs. Little Rock. The only prior meeting between the programs before Friday was a 2-0 SIU win in 2002 ... SIU's 19 wins lead the nation (tied with 19-4 Tennessee and 19-4 Ole Miss) ... SIU's five-game winning streak is tied for the 12th-longest active winning streak in the nation ... SIU scored 10+ runs for the ninth time in 20 games this season and 8+ runs for the 14th time ... SIU is ranked No. 22 nationally by Collegiate Baseball.