SIUC baseball coach Dan Callahan was feeling a little nauseous after his team took him on another roller-coaster ride this weekend.

The scene for this trip was not a theme park but Abe Martin Field as the Salukis split a pair of doubleheaders with Bradley University. SIUC opened the weekend at the top with a doubleheader sweep Saturday, only to fall quickly Sunday with a doubleheader loss in the Salukis’ final homestand of the season.

It was just an ugly game, an ugly day, Callahan said. What a difference a day makes. Just 24 hours ago, I was on cloud nine. Now, it’s just the flipside.

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The Saluki pitching staff was on center stage, giving up just nine runs in the first ballgames. Included in that display was the gem thrown by senior David Piazza, who gave up just two earned runs but suffered a 2-1 loss in game one Sunday.

But SIUC fell apart in game two, giving up 14 runs, 21 hits and two key home runs in a 14-3 loss. The Salukis pitching staff was also victimized by the Braves’ bottom third of the lineup, as the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters went a combined 9-for-21 (.429) for the day.

In the second game, we just turned it into a fiasco, Callahan said. The thing that bothers me more than anything it is unbelievable what their seven, eight and nine hitters did today. In the seventh, their eight and nine hitters had been on nine times over the course of those two games.

If you can’t get the bottom of the order out, then you’re going to have trouble. In this game, it’s difficult enough to pitch to the middle of the order. There’s generally a reason why guys are hitting eighth and ninth. It’s not because they’re hitting .350 or .400, but I’ll tell you what, we turned their seven, eight and nine hitters into .350, .400 hitters today.

The Salukis, 21-22 overall and 10-18 in the Missouri Valley Conference, opened the day with confidence after 12-5 and 5-2 wins over the Braves (17-29, 9-15) Saturday. SIUC hung tough in game one, but could manage only a solo homer by senior Brad Benson in the sixth inning off Bradley ace Drew Chaney.

I’d be taking something away from Drew Chaney if I said we deserved to win or we blew that game because that’s not giving him enough credit, Callahan said. He pitched a very good ballgame, as did Piazza. Piazza obviously pitched well enough to win you’re not going to see too many 2-1 games in college baseball, especially after what we saw yesterday (Saturday).

The Salukis played well in game two until the sixth, when the Braves opened a stretch of three innings where they scored three runs in each. After five solid innings, senior pitcher Chris Schullian gave up a three-run homer to Matt Seeley to give the Braves a three-run lead.

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The rest of the Saluki pitching corps could fare no better, as sophomore Jim Pecoraro and juniors Justin Kees, Dave Condon and Jake Bilyeu gave up eight runs in the final 3 2/3 innings.

Our pitching was OK, junior catcher Brian Phelan said. But once we got into the bullpen, we gave up some weak hits, and we gave up some big hits. Their balls found the holes, and ours didn’t.

The Salukis rolled to their second doubleheader sweep of the season Saturday behind the impressive pitching performances of two little-used hurlers.

Senior Chris Kulig tossed a complete game in just his second start of the year in SIUC’s 12-5 win in game one. Kulig gave up just two runs and six hits in eight innings before getting touched for three runs in the ninth.

Kulig was the beneficiary of three Saluki blasts against a strong wind to key the Salukis’ 14-hit attack. Two of those homers came in the opening two frames, with seniors Benson and Cory Schrank each hitting two-run shots as SIUC opened a 7-0 lead.

Senior third baseman Matt Dettman topped an explosive day at the plate with his 12th home run of the season to add to SIUC’s lead in the second inning. Dettman’s slam was his 25th of his Saluki career, putting him fourth on the school’s all-time list. Dettman finished the day 6-for-7 with four RBIs and five runs scored.

Junior John Conrad stepped up to the challenge of his first career college start by giving up just one run in 4 1/3 innings in the Salukis’ 5-2 win in game two. Conrad gave way to sophomore reliever Jay Schwerman, who improved to 2-4 on the year after tossing three innings and giving up one run. Pecoraro pitched the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Salukis once again battered the Braves’ pitching staff for 13 hits, but could only score five times. However, SIUC got all the runs they would need in the opening frame, as Schrank and senior Carl Kochan hit two-out RBI singles and senior Joel Peters added a two-run double.

With nine regular-season games left, Phelan said SIUC must bear down to ensure they wrap up the sixth and final spot for the MVC Tournament.

We come out and win two yesterday (Saturday), and we’ve got to come out with that same fire and win two today, Phelan said. And we didn’t do that. We’ve got to be able to do that. To get into the tournament and once we get to the tournament, we’ve got to turn it on like that and come out with some intensity like we did [Saturday].