Senior left fielder Jordan Sivertsen hit two home runs and drove in six for the Salukis as the team won a back-and-forth battle Tuesday with Murray State.

SIU (16-13, 3-3 Missouri Valley Conference) defeated Murray State (14-16, 1-5 Ohio Valley Conference) by a score of 13-10, scoring four runs in the final two innings.

Murray State jumped to a 6-0 lead by the end of the third inning, but SIU climbed back by the top of the fifth. Sivertsen hit a two-run home run with nobody out to make the score 6-5, but SIU couldn’t keep the rally going and the Racers took the lead back with two runs in their half of the fifth inning.

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SIU didn’t stay down for long as Sivertsen’s second home run of the day, a three-run shot on the first pitch of the at bat with two outs, capped off a four-run inning for the Salukis that put them ahead 9-8.

Murray State answered back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead back 10-9. Jacob Rhodes, senior catcher for the Racers, was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give Murray State the lead.

SIU answered back in the top of the eighth with two more runs, capped off by Sivertsen’s sixth RBI on a fielder’s choice to the shortstop that scored Saluki sophomore third baseman Donny Duschinsky.

Tyler Dray (2-1), sophomore left-handed pitcher for SIU, picked up the victory after pitching the seventh and eighth innings. He gave up two earned runs on one hit and four walks while striking out three.

SIU returns to conference play at home this weekend against Evansville.