A pair of three-run homers was all Austin Peay State University had, but it was enough to force a split of the doubleheader Sunday at Abe Martin Field.

The Salukis committed two errors in the second game, and two unearned runs crossed the plate. That was the difference in the game as the Salukis came up one run short in the bottom of the seventh, falling 6-5 to the Governors.

SIUC trailed most of the day, but the Salukis had a late-inning rally in the first game and won 6-4.

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The Salukis were trailing 6-2 going into the bottom of the seventh when junior centerfielder Joe Schley beat out a throw for an infield single. Senior designated hitter Brad Benson homered and senior third baseman Matt Dettman hit a solo shot to left center to make it 6-5.

But the rally came up short and the Salukis had to settle for a split.

Benson had four of the five RBI in the second game and had five hits on the day.

Both games were seven-inning games. The Salukis were scheduled to play one game at Austin Peay on Saturday and one game in Carbondale on Sunday, but a rain out forced the doubleheader Sunday.

Sophomore pitcher Jay Schwerman suffered the loss in the second game and is now 1-4 on the season.

With the spilt, the Salukis are now 15-25 overall, while the Governors are 18-26.

Junior pitcher Dave Piazza pitched five innings and got the win in the first game. He had to battle a pair of errors that led to one unearned run crossing the plate, but he managed to keep the Governors at bay so the Salukis could come back.

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I thought he battled really well, said baseball coach Dan Callahan. We didn’t execute very well defensively in the second inning. They ended up scoring three runs on basically four ground balls two balls that we booted and two little three or four hoppers that just happened to eat through the infield. He was pitching a lot better than the situation he was in early on.

The Salukis got five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning of the first game to take a 5-4 lead, and they never looked back. SIUC added one more run in the fifth.

The Salukis’ biggest boost came from the bat of sophomore outfielder Marty Worsley, who hit a one-out three-run homer to take the lead.

Worsley said he admired his team in the way they all battled back and almost won both games.

We never gave up, and that’s good, Worsley said. I think the coaches respect that, and I respect that of other players. We were just doing a good job picking each other up.

Factoid:The Salukis take on Indiana State University in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Abe Martin Field.