After going 1-3 on a road trip, SIU Baseball headed back to Itchy Jones Stadium to begin an eight-game homestand. To start the lengthy stretch of home games, the Salukis hosted the Trailblazers of Utah Tech University for a three-game series from March 27 to 29.
MARCH 27: SIU 10, UTT 0
Advertisement
Pitcher Andrew Evans got the nod to kick off the weekend series. The towering right-hander sent the Trailblazers down quickly to start the game.
Neither offense generated a run until the bottom of the third inning, when the Salukis loaded the bases for Gabe Petrucelli. The second baseman drove in two runners with a single to center field to get the home team on the board.
The Dawgs tacked on another run after scoring on an error in the fifth inning.
Advertisement*
One inning later, the Salukis found themselves with a 4-0 lead after third baseman Jaden Flores sprinted home on a wild pitch.
The Salukis had traffic on the bases, and the offense was still red hot. Shortstop Henry Kufa started the seventh-inning scoring barrage with an RBI single. Right fielder Kye Watson got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, driving in the second run of the inning. Another wild pitch made it 7-0, and the Salukis were on the verge of a mercy-rule victory.
Centerfielder Julio Guerrero, who has put a ball over the wall three times in the last four games, stepped up and sent a fastball out of Itchy Jones Stadium. The three-run home run was enough to win the game by mercy rule in the seventh inning.
Evans pitched all seven innings, shutting out the Trailblazers on 117 pitches.
MARCH 28: UTT 9, SIU 4
Looking to snag a series victory, pitcher Troy Shepard took to the mound for the Salukis in Game 2. Similar to Friday’s game, the crafty left-hander kept the bases empty in the first inning.
Guerrero, batting second for the Dawgs, drove the third pitch he saw over the left field wall, good for his fifth homer in the last six games. The surging centerfielder gave SIU a swift 1-0 lead.
Both pitchers mowed down the opposing offenses with ease, and no runs were plated until the bottom of the fifth inning. Catcher Jacob McKenzie scored on a wild pitch, giving the Dawgs an insurance run.
The Trailblazers scored their first run of the series in the top of the seventh inning of the second game, cutting the lead down to one run.
The Salukis answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a McKenzie RBI single.
After a grueling eighth inning, the Trailblazers’ offense posted six runs on a plethora of hits, walks and errors.
The crowd went silent as another two Trailblazer runs crossed home via SIU errors. The Salukis faced a 9-3 deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Down to the last few outs, Guerrero added the final run to the Saluki total with an RBI single up the middle, but the damage was already done. The Trailblazers took the second game 9-4, making the third game the deciding factor for a series victory for either team.
MARCH 29: UTT 12, SIU 4
The Salukis sent out Meade Johnson to face the Trailblazers in the decisive third game of the series. The pitcher faced some early trouble, giving up a first-inning run.
First baseman Cecil Lofton and Petrucelli each recorded a hit in the bottom of the inning, but no runs were scored for the Salukis.
The Trailblazers upped their lead to 2-0 on a run-scoring wild pitch.
Guerrero gave the Salukis their first run on an RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The game-tying run was scored on smart baserunning by Lofton and Flores.
The Trailblazers posted a five-run seventh inning, giving the away team a large lead. Flores knocked his first homerun of the year over the left field wall and added a run to the SIU total.
Once again, the Trailblazers put up a five-run inning, this time in the eighth, extending their lead to 12-3.
The Salukis notched their last run of the series with an RBI sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Kyle Mager in the bottom of the eighth inning, cutting the lead down to eight runs.
The Trailblazers walked out of Itchy Jones Stadium with a 2-1 series victory over SIU.
With this series loss, the Dawgs are 10-16 overall, with a 1-2 record in conference play. The Trailblazers improve to 18-10 overall.
Sports Reporter Noah Petschke can be reached at [email protected]
Advertisement
