SIUC’s season-opening weekend in Nevada was dampened by Mother Nature and a case of butterfingers.

The Saluki baseball team had one game canceled because of an El Nino winter storm, but SIUC could not blame the weather in dropping to 0-2 on the season.

The Salukis fell to the University of San Francisco 11-5 Friday night, and followed that effort with an 18-8 loss to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Saturday afternoon. SIUC committed two errors in the first game before losing a 5-1 lead with four errors against UNLV.

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SIUC’s matchup with the University of Nevada Saturday was rained out. SIUC’s rematch with UNLV, scheduled for Sunday morning, was pushed back and was set to begin after deadline Sunday night.

Saluki coach Dan Callahan was not pleased with his team’s performance during the team’s opening weekend.

Obviously, we haven’t played as well as we had hoped, Callahan said. Although, that is no excuse because we have had plenty of chances to be outside with the warm weather we have had.

The Salukis got off to a shaky start Friday night against San Francisco. USF (7-3) took an early 2-0 lead, but the Salukis responded, trailing 4-3 in the fourth inning.

The Dons took the lead for good in the top of the sixth inning, scoring five runs off Saluki relievers Dave Condon and Chris Schullian. SIUC managed just one more run, while USF added single tallies in the eighth and ninth innings for the six-run margin.

Jeff Pritchard led the USF offense, hitting 4-for-6 with four RBIs. Senior Joel Peters led the Salukis by going 3-for-3 with an RBI, while sophomore Dave Pohlman went 2-for-3 and sophomore Marty Worsley went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.

USF’s Chris Thogerson improved to 2-0 with the win. Saluki junior Brad Heuring fell to 0-1 after allowing three earned runs and three hits in 2 2-3 innings. Condon allowed five earned runs in 2 2-3 innings, while Schullian gave up two earned runs in 2 2-3 innings. Junior Jake Bilyeu gave up one run in one inning pitched.

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SIUC continued its skid with a disappointing 18-8 loss to UNLV Saturday afternoon. The Salukis took a 5-1 lead with a five-run explosion in the top of the second, only to watch the Rebels respond with 17 runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

Senior Matt Dettman and Pohlman kick-started the second-inning rally with back-to-back doubles. Junior Jon Winter picked up an RBI after being hit by a pitch, and junior Joe Schley drove in a run on a fielder’s choice. An error and a steal of home by Winter led to the Salukis’ other two runs.

But SIUC returned the favor later with two errors that led to four unearned runs in the Rebels’ six-run fourth. UNLV added five runs in the sixth and put another six on the board to seal the win.

Saturday’s loss was especially disappointing because we had a 5-1 lead at one point, Callahan said. Our defense really let us down and made it much more lopsided than it should have been.

Pohlman spearheaded the Salukis offensively with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate and two doubles. Dettman went 2-for-4 with a double while Winter went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Rebel starter Bill Scheffels improved to 1-1 with the win. Saluki senior reliever Donnie Chester picked up the loss, giving up five runs in 1 2-3 innings. Senior starter David Piazza allowed five runs in 3 2-3 innings before giving way to Chester. Sophomore Jim Pecoraro gave up four runs in 1 2-3 innings while junior John Conrad pitched one-third of an inning.

The Salukis travel to Stillwater, Okla., Friday for a three-game series with Oklahoma State University.

We know our pitching will come around eventually, and we hope that playing quality competition will pay off come our conference schedule, Callahan said.