CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois evened the weekend series on Saturday with a 5-4 win over Jacksonville State at Itchy Jones Stadium on the SIU campus.
After the Gamecocks claimed an 8-6 decision on Friday, Sunday's game becomes a rubber game contest for the non-conference series. JSU dropped to 11-10 overall, while the Salukis moved to 12-11 on the season. Sunday's rubber game is set for 1 p.m.
The Salukis erased a 4-2 deficit with three runs in the final two frames to collect the win. SIU answered Jax State's four-run seventh with a run in the home half of the frame and pushed the tying and winning runs across the plate in the eighth inning. SIU started the eighth with a leadoff walk by JSU left hander
Nate Sylvester followed by a double by Logan Blackfan. Jake Hand singled to left field to equalize at 4-4 before freshman right hander
Corley Woods was inserted on the mound. Hand moved in to scoring position on a stolen base with the JSU infield drawn in. Woods recorded the first out with a strike out, but a wild pitch in the next at bat plated the winning run for the Salukis. SIU's Ryan Netemeyer retired JSU in the ninth to post his eighth save of the season. Sylvester was saddled with the loss.
For the second consecutive day, SIU took an early lead on the Gamecocks as it registered a pair of unearned runs in the second inning off of JSU starter
Colton Pate. Pate, the reigning co-Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week shrugged off the second inning and would hold the Salukis to the two runs. The Lincoln, Alabama native went 6.0 innings and allowed five SIU hits and fanned four Salukis. In his last two outings, Pate has not allowed an earned run spanning 13 innings after seven shutout frames last weekend against Eastern Illinois.
Pate kept the Gamecocks in the contest as the offense was facing SIU's Michael Baird, who started the game with an earned run average of less than one run. Baird kept JSU off balance for six innings until he ran in to trouble in the seventh.
Just like Friday, JSU's bats came alive in the seventh inning. In the opener, the Gamecocks' bats exploded for seven runs that broke open a 1-1 contest. As the rain began to get heavier with one out in the seventh, junior
Taylor Hawthorne kick started the inning with a walk. Junior
Hayden White connected on the first of four consecutive hits by the Gamecocks to chase Baird from the contest and take a 4-2 lead. White's single to right field drove in the first run, while freshman
Chase Robinson laced a single off Baird to deadlock the game at 2-all. Senior
Joe McGuire was called upon again in a pinch hit situation and for the second consecutive game; the Oxford, Alabama native delivered a single to load the bases off of SIU reliever Bradley Harrison.
With the bases full of Gamecocks, freshman
Andrew Naismith earned a walk on a seven pitch at bat. Junior
Nolan Greckel had an RBI with his team-best 21
st walk in the inning. Greckel reached base twice in the game after starting the game with a base hit to right.
Simpson was the lone Gamecock player with multiple hits as he posted a double in the eighth, but was left stranded.
Sunday's contest will be on the Gamecock Sports Network with air time at 12:40. Live stats will also be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.
