After dropping the Friday opener, Saluki Baseball swept the Saturday doubleheader, winning both games on extra inning walk-off hits, to take the weekend series 2-1 against the University of Illinois Chicago. The Flames made the trip down to Carbondale to open Missouri Valley Conference play on March 21 and 22.
Jackson Payne got the starting nod for the Friday night game that saw the Salukis struggle mightily on defense. The six Salukis to take the mound combined to issue 12 walks and the players behind them combined for six errors in the 17-6 loss. Dylan Petrey was saddled with the loss in his 2 1/3 innings of work.
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Matt Schark was the standout player on offense for SIU going 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the third and a two-run homer in the seventh. Gabe Petrucelli and Cecil Lofton drove in the other two Saluki runs with doubles of their own.
For Game 2 , Meade Johnson got the ball for the Dawgs and picked up 5 2/3 innings of slack with his lone blemish of the outing being a three-run shot in the fifth. Gavan Wernsing got six scoreless outs and Sam Frizzi earned the win with his 2 1/3 innings of relief.
At the dish, Petrucelli, Michael Mylott and Kaleb Hall all left the yard with solo shots. Hall tallied another RBI on a fielder’s choice in the ninth to force extra innings. But it was Tim Simay who was the hero for Southern with a single in the bottom of the 10th to score Lofton and secure the win, tying the series 1-1.
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Jordan Huskey started the rubber match for the Salukis and got through the first three innings before the ball was given to Al Holguin. Holguin got the next six outs before he was pulled for Blaine Harpenau who only recorded a single out. All three pitchers were on the hook for three runs. Then Cole Koonce came in unhittable, tossing 4 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief en route to a win.
On the other side of the ball, Lofton, Petrucelli, Mylott and Mason Schwalbach each drove in one run and John Lemm drove to two with a no-doubt home run in the eighth, but it was Jordan Bach who was the star of the show. The British Columbia native went 4-5 with four RBI including two in the eighth to tie it, in a game where the Dawgs trailed by as much as seven, and the walk off double in the 10th to sweep the doubleheader and win the series.
With the series win over the Flames, the Dawgs move to 15-7 on the season and open up Valley play with a record of 2-1. They will be back in action on Tuesday, March 25 and Wednesday, March 26 to take on UT Martin with Tuesday being on the road and Wednesday in Carbondale. The Salukis will then head on up to Peoria for a series with Bradley over the weekend.
Sports Reporter Nick Pfannkuche can be reached at npfankuche@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and X @dailyegyptian.
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