The SIUC Baseball team (28-11, 6-3 MVC) traveled over to Dallas this weekend for a three game set against Dallas Baptist University (24-15, 5-4 conference). The Salukis took games 1 and 2 of the series on Friday and Saturday with final scores of 7-6 and 10-9, while they dropped the final game of the series on Sunday with a score of 2-10.

The Salukis were highlighted by an offensive performance from junior Kaeber Rog, who notched 6 total RBIs throughout the three games to lead the team. Rog went 5/11 at the plate against DBU along with three walks. Senior J.T Weber shined bright against DBU as well, also going 5/11 at the plate while knocking in two runs and three walks.

As for pitchers, senior right-hander Noah Farmer and junior right-hander Matthew Steidl earned the win in both games 1 and 2. Farmer moved to 4-1 on the season with his game two start, going seven innings while allowing five runs off nine hits and three walks after striking out five. Steidl earned the win in game one as a reliever. He went five strong innings, only giving up one run off three hits and five walks while striking out eight in the process.

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Game one saw the Salukis take the early 1-0 lead off a double steal play when Weber stole home. However, the Patriots stormed right back with a 4-run bottom of the second. The Salukis returned the favor with a 4-run inning of their own in the top of the fourth to take the lead back. Sophomore Evan Martin doubled out to right-field to score a run. Then, four batters later with the bases loaded, Rog cleared the bases with a shot out to center-field, to make it a 5-4 ballgame.

The Salukis tacked on another run in the top of the fifth, but the Patriots tied it up once again in the bottom of the fifth at 6-all. In the eighth, junior Ryan Rodriguez hit the go-ahead run out to left field to take the one-run lead. Steidl closed it out with two more clean innings in the Eighth and ninth and SIU took the game one win with a 7-6 final score.

Game two yet again saw SIU take the early lead after a three-run first inning, including a homer by Rog. That helped SIU build a huge 10-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.

However, then came the Patriots bats. After DBU earned a run back off a single, a grand slam quickly made it a competitive game again at 10-7. Then, in the bottom of the ninth and down to their last out, the Patriots scored two runs off three hits in a row. They had the winning run in scoring position when a fly-out to center-field spared the Salukis from blowing the big lead. SIU hung on for the 10-9 win in game two.

Game three was not so fortunate for the Salukis, as they found themselves in a 7-0 hole early after the third inning. SIU earned their first run in the fifth after an error by the third baseman, making it a 7-1 game briefly. In the top of the seventh, SIU earned their second run off a groundout by junior Jack Rigoni to make it a 9-2 ballgame. SIU couldn’t get their bats warmed up and they went down 10-2 in game three.

The Salukis will be back at home on Tuesday to host Southeastern Missouri. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m that evening.

Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.

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