Saluki Baseball headed east April 11-13 for a three-game set with the Sycamores of Indiana State University. SIU took only one of the three games for their second series loss in conference play.

For the Friday, April 11 opener, the Salukis gave the ball to Tyler Timmerman. Timmerman was chased in the second inning, having given up five runs. With the starter out early, the bullpen was asked to pick up the remaining work, giving up a combined four runs in the process. Cole Koonce took the brunt of it with 3 2/3 innings of relief and credited with two runs surrendered.

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From down six early, Jaxon Holder led the bats with two runs driven in on a double in the sixth, and four other Salukis had one RBI each, but the comeback came up just short as the Dawgs fell 9-7 in the first game of the series.

Alec Nigut had the bump on April 12 looking to even the series in the second game and delivered a five-inning, three-run performance that earned him the win. Gavan Wernsing, Matt Irvine and Dylan Petrey combined to get the last 12 outs to secure the Saluki’s 16-9 win.

John Lemm and Tim Simay led the scoring for the Dawgs, each plating four SIU runs. Lemm and Jordan Bach each came around to score three times, Saturday afternoon, while Holder reached base in four of his five plate appearances and came across the plate all four of times.

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With the series on the line, the Salukis looked to ride the arm of Meade Johnson for the third game on Sunday, April 13. Johnson was pulled before recording an out in what would become a five-run fifth for the hosting Sycamores, ending his day on the hook for six runs. Tanner Gerdes and Jackson Payne were able to slow the bleeding enough for the Dawgs to get back into it, only surrendering one run each in a combined two innings of work. Sam Frizzi took the loss in the series finale, with four Sycamores coming across in the eighth.

Lemm had another productive performance, tallying two more RBIs and scoring three more times. Cade Nelis also brought in two baserunners, but there wasn’t enough production from the rest of the lineup as SIU dropped the finale by a score of 12-8.

The Salukis moved to a 24-11 overall record and a 7-5 conference record as a result of the weekend, moving them into a three-way tie for third with the Sycamores and Murray 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 and X @dailyegyptian.

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