Salukis swing back after rough week

Salukis swing back after rough week

By Aaron Graff

The Salukis had a team batting average of .203 last week, forcing coach Ken Henderson to construct a new lineup, which teed off Tuesday.

SIU baseball (19-17, 3-6) had at least one hit from every spot in the lineup, and set five offensive season highs Wednesday against University of Tennessee Martin (4- 30, 3-15).

Freshman center fielder Dyllin Mucha batted in the leadoff spot and senior shortstop Jake Welch batted third for the first time this season. Mucha and Welch combined had four hits, six RBIs and four runs scored.

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“I (led off) in high school, so it wasn’t much of a change,” Mucha said.

Freshman middle infielder Connor Kopach earned his first start since March 30 against Missouri State University. He went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored from the two hole.

“If I didn’t have any hits or one hit, I probably wouldn’t start tomorrow,” Kopach said. “I really needed it.”

Kopach had a .161 batting average coming into the game, and said he widened his stance for the game.

Since the two freshmen batted at the top of the order, several players moved down a spot or two in the lineup.

“It wasn’t an experiment,” Henderson said. “I was pretty confident Mucha and Kopach would do their job and get on base.”

The Salukis scored four runs on four hits in the first inning.

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Senior left-handed pitcher Brad Drust made his first start and second appearance of the season. He did not allow a run in the first three innings, but allowed three hits in the fourth before walking in a run. Senior Aaron Snyder was called in to pitch with one out and allowed the Skyhawks to tie the game on two hits.

The Skyhawks retired the first two batters in the bottom of the fourth, but the Salukis had five straight hits to give them an 8-4 lead, which set up Snyder’s first win of the season.

“We felt like we had a lot more talent than them and we have more chemistry,” Kopach said. “We knew we were probably going to pull it out and get a win somehow.”

The Salukis added seven more runs in the next two innings to extend their lead to 15-4.

Senior Matt Murphy entered in the sixth inning and gave up only one run in three innings.

The Salukis added one more run in the eighth to give them a 16-5 lead.

Freshman Connor McFadden made his eighth appearance of the season and his first from the bullpen in the ninth inning. McFadden was moved to the bullpen after struggling as a starter. He pitched a scoreless inning to finish the Saluki win.

“I don’t care who we’re playing,” Henderson said. “We did a lot of good stuff. I was looking at what we did, and we executed.”

Seniors Ryan Casillas and Cody Daily each hit two doubles while junior Tyler Rolland went 3 for 4 with an RBI.

Freshman catcher Jake Hand made his first start behind the plate in two weeks because Henderson wanted to give senior Matt Jones a day to rest. Hand went 2 for 4 with an RBI and scored three times.

Henderson said Jones would likely start today.

The Salukis play Austin Peay University 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Itchy Jones Stadium.

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected], @ Aarongraff_DE or 536-3311 ext. 269

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