Story by Gage Johnson, Senior Writer
The last time Southern Illinois University and Murray State baseball faced off, the Salukis’ potent offense was the downfall of the Racers.
The long ball hurt Murray State, as the third homerun of the game for the Salukis gave SIU the late 11-9 comeback victory.
Southern Illinois applied the pressure early on in the ballgame. Junior infielder Niko Vasic provided the first run of the game for the Salukis, stealing third and then scoring on a throwing error by the Racers. Senior infielder Hunter Anderson then homered in the second inning, giving SIU an early 2-0 lead.
The Racers answered the Salukis’ offensive attack in the top of the third. After singling in a run, a double from sophomore third baseman Davis Sims brought in two to give Murray State a 3-2 lead. An error by SIU allowed another run to cross the plate to end the inning, leaving Murray State in charge 4-2.
Both teams continued to pile on the offense throughout the game, adding on multiple runs. With the score at 8-5 in favor of Murray State, the Salukis cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the fifth when Anderson homered for the second time. His fourth blast of the year made it 8-7 going into the sixth.
With both teams tacking on a run each in the sixth, the score sat at 9-8 entering the latter half of the ballgame. Murray State seemed to be in control, holding on to its one-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
However, the Salukis had a comeback in the works. SIU began a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth, with a single and walk giving them runners on first and second. The 25 mph winds on the night helped carry the ball out of the park for senior infielder Logan Blackfan. The three-run bomb marked his seventh of the season, and put the Salukis ahead 11-9.
“I thought we did a good job of throwing strikes today,” said Head Coach Kevin Moulder. “Unfortunately we couldn’t keep the ball in the yard. They got us with three homers, and we weren’t able to capitalize on the same opportunities.”
Nine runs would be all the Racers could muster in the ballgame, going scoreless in the ninth. This late offensive push from SIU gave them the 11-9 victory over Murray State.
With Murray State in a rut, losing five straight, they will look to bounce back and end the season strong in conference play. The Racers have struggled to click on all cylinders offensively and defensively at times this year, but Moulder thinks that they’re more than capable of doing so down the stretch.
“We just need to keep plugging away,” Moulder said. “We just have to trust the process and it’ll work out in the long run.”
They will get their first chance to improve their chances of making the OVC tournament when they play the first of three against Southeast Missouri at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at Cape Girardeau, Missouri.