Andrew Evans pitched eight innings and Julio Guerrero drove in four runs as the Southern Illinois Salukis defeated Belmont 8-3 on May 9 in Nashville. The game saw both teams unable to score through three innings, with Belmont breaking through first in the fourth. Jaden Flores responded for Southern Illinois with a solo home run in the fifth, followed by an RBI double from Guerrero and an RBI groundout from Cecil Lofton to complete a three-run inning.
Evans held Belmont scoreless through the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings after his team took the lead. Gabe Petrucelli added another run for Southern Illinois in the sixth after scoring on an error. In the eighth inning, Mason Schwalbach brought home Flores with a single before Guerrero hit a three-run homer to extend the lead to 8-1. This was Guerrero’s seventh home run of the season.
Evans finished his outing allowing three runs while striking out six batters and walking just one. Blake Kimball closed out the game by retiring all batters he faced in the ninth inning.
The Salukis will look to secure a series win against Belmont on Saturday at 2 p.m. Fans can follow updates about Southern Illinois baseball on Twitter at @SIU_Baseball, Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball, Instagram at @SIU_Baseball, or via their mobile app.
The Southern Illinois Salukis baseball program participates in NCAA Division I within the Missouri Valley Conference and hosts games at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, which features artificial turf and a state-of-the-art video board according to the official website. The program has recorded five College World Series appearances and fourteen NCAA Tournament appearances during its history under coaches like Richard ‘Itchy’ Jones, whose uniform number was retired by Southern Illinois University according to their official website.
