Racers Fall Late To Southern Illinois, Snaps Winning Streak

Tuesday, April 27

Carbondale, Ill.

5 p.m.

Murray State

21-17

Southern Illinois

27-12

Murray State

SIU

Photo by: SIU Media Services

Racers Fall Late To Southern Illinois, Snaps Winning Streak

4/27/2021 10:06:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Two late inning home runs lifts SIU over Murray State, 5-4

The Southern Illinois Salukis (27-12, 6-10 MVC) snapped the Murray State Racers (21-16, 11-7 OVC) five-game winning streak, using two eighth inning home runs to come from behind and win 5-4.

Quinton Kujawa was solid for six innings, a new career long, striking out four and only allowing one earned run on four hits.

Riley Hawthorne, playing in his second game, picked up his first career hit as a Racer with a leadoff single to right center in the fifth.

Murray State had a lot of traffic on the base paths in the early part of the game, even loading the bases with nobody out but it was Southern Illinois who cracked the scoreboard first with a run in the bottom half of the fourth.

The Racers immediately answered with three runs of their own in the next half inning. With two runners on, three straight Racers, Jordan Cozart, Brennan McCullough and Bryson Bloomer all delivered RBIs.

Southern Illinois closed the gap to one, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth.

In the eighth, Jordan Holly hustled down to the first base line to beat out an infield single to plate the Racers fourth run of the game.

After one scoreless relief inning, Jordyn Naranjo gave up a solo home run to bring it to a 4-3 game and was replaced by Jake Jones. A diving Brennan McCullough couldn't come up with a ball in right that put a SIU runner on third with only one out. The next batter then launched an 0-2, two-run home run to give the Salukis a 5-4 advantage.

Murray State made a bid to tie the game in the ninth. SIU's pitching staff had been throwing carefully to the red-hot Bryson Bloomer all game, walked him on four pitches with two outs. Jake Slunder came on to pinch run for Bloomer and immediately stole second but a ground out ended the game.

The Racers will visit the conference leader, Morehead State, for a three-game conference series Apr. 30-May 1 and then will play the Eagles in a non-conference game on Sunday (May 2). First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in the doubleheader on Friday.