Senior outfielder Austin Montgomery tallied three RBIs off of four hits in the Salukis’ 7-6 win Tuesday against the University of Tennesse-Martin.

SIU hosted UTM at Abe Martin Field. The Salukis previously faced the Skyhawks in Tennessee February 19 and won the game 8-4. The win Tuesday moves the Salukis’ all-time series record to 26-8.

Junior pitcher Brad Drust started and gained his third win of the season as he allowed three runs in five hits and struck out three batters in 5.1 innings. Skyhawks sophomore pitcher Cody Miller started the game and pitched a no-decision after he walking two batters and allowing two runs in less than one inning.

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The two teams didn’t wait long before they found their way onto the scoreboard. The Skyhawks started with a three-run first inning, and the Salukis followed with five-straight unanswered runs to take the lead 5-3.

UTM senior outfielder Grant Glasser and sophomore infielder Sonny Mastromatteo scored off of senior outfielder Byron Johann’s double to center field in the top of the first. Johann was then driven in to score after two at-bats by senior infielder Matt Haynes’ single to centerfield to lead 3-0 over the Salukis.

Drust said he couldn’t get in the groove of throwing strikes until the first inning was behind him.

“After the first inning, I kind of found my stride,” he said. “I wasn’t hitting my spots in the first inning, so I wasn’t getting rewarded with borderline strikes. They were close, but they weren’t there.”

The Salukis responded in the bottom of the first when senior outfielder Austin Montgomery hit a single to right field, and junior infielder Jake Welch scored to decrease the UTM lead to one run.

Drust said he struggled a bit early, but the team’s offense fired him up for the rest of the game.

“The hitters did a very good job of picking me up after that first inning,” he said. “They came back and scored two. Then the next inning to score three more and give us the lead, that really let me settle in even more.”

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SIU head coach Ken Henderson said the first-inning comeback was exactly what the Salukis needed.

“They gave us some gifts there in the first inning,” Henderson said, “(Montgomery) had a big hit there to drive in the run. It was basically like starting back over, which is what we needed.”

The Salukis added another three runs to take the first lead of the game in the bottom of the second inning.

The first Saluki run came when senior outfielder Rennie Troggio singled to right field and Welch scored his second run of the game. Troggio then stole second base, and junior designated hitter Matt Jones doubled to left field to drive him in. Montgomery added his second RBI of the game in the next at-bat to take a 5-3 lead over the Skyhawks.

UTM jumped back into the game after the top of the seventh inning when sophomore infielder Nico Zynch, freshman catcher Drew Erie and freshman outfielder Luis Paublini scored to decrease SIU’s lead to one run at 7-6.

In the ninth inning with a win and a save at stake, junior relief pitcher Todd Eaton came in and grabbed his sixth save of the year. Eaton faced four batters, struck out one and allowed one hit to finish the game.

Henderson said the Salukis weren’t planning to play Eaton, but he came in and gave a solid performance.

“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to use (Eaton) after he had a two-inning save on Sunday,” he said. “But he threw well just like he normally does. He filled up the zone and had good stuff.”

Montgomery led the Salukis in hitting with a .800 in-game batting average and posted four hits on five at-bats, which led to four RBIs. Behind Montgomery in hitting was Jones, who went two for four and had two runs.

The Salukis’ Tuesday win moved their seasonal record to 18-18. Their next series is a Missouri Valley Conference matchup against Creighton University from Friday-Sunday at the CU Sports Complex in Omaha, Neb.d