Riding a four game win streak, the SIU baseball team traveled up to Peoria on March 28 and 29 for a three game series with the Bradley Braves, where the Dawgs ended up sweeping the set for their second Missouri Valley Conference series win. SIU is now 5-1 in the MVC and alone in first place.

Jackson Payne got the ball to start the weekend and delivered 4 2/3 innings of work before getting chased during a 5-run fifth inning. Tanner Gerdes, Cole Koonce, Gavan Wernsing and Matt Irvine all got some mop up work with Wernsing getting the win with his 3 innings of relief.

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At the dish, John Lemm and Kaleb Hall led SIU, each tallying 5 runs driven in. Hall drove in 4 of his RBI with a grand slam in the fifth, and all of Lemm’s RBI came as part of a 11-run ninth that put the game well out of reach. Six other Salukis had a multi-RBI night for the 25-11 win in the series opener.

Alec Nigut was the game two starter and delivered a 5 inning, 3-run performance that earned him the win. Irvine, Dylan Petrey and Andrew Yusypchuk combined to pick up the last 4 innings with Irvine surrendering one run down the stretch.

Matt Schark and Mason Schwalbach took responsibility for most of the damage in the 13-4 win. Schark drove in 5, including 4 on a grand slam in seventh and Scwalbach went 4-5 with 3 runs driven in and 3 runs scored.

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For the series finale, Meade Johnson was on the bump to begin the game for SIU and surrendered 2 while getting 10 outs. Petrey and Sam Frizzi each tossed 2 2/3, with Petrey getting the win for his efforts, and Griffin Catto picked up the final out to seal the sweep of the Braves.

Game 3 was another productive game for both Schark and Schwalbach. Schark picked up another 5 RBI including leaving the yard twice, bringing his home run count on the season to 11, matching his 2023 figure in half as many games. Schwalbach had another 3 RBI performance in another 13-4 win for the Dawgs.

With the sweep of Bradley, the Salukis improved to a season record of 20-7 and a conference record of 5-1, good to rank at the top of the Missouri Valley through two weekends. The Dawgs will be back in action on Tuesday, April 1 at Lindenwood before returning to Carbondale to host the pre-season MVC favorite Missouri State.

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. 

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