2008 Woodie Awards
Saluki baseball salvages series with a win Sunday
SIU wins 5-3 Sunday, improves to 3-4
Matt Hartwig
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Maybe a return to Abe Martin Field was all the SIU baseball team needed.
After dropping a doubleheader to Northern Illinois Saturday at Rent One Park in Marion, the Salukis dealt the Huskies a 5-3 loss at Abe Martin Field Sunday.
SIU coach Dan Callahan said having a true home game made a big difference.
"When you play at home, you actually want to play at home," Callahan said. "I'm not saying we had any disadvantage playing in Tennessee or Rent One, but it's just not the same as being here at the Abe."
Junior starting pitcher David Kington cruised through five innings before running into some trouble in the sixth for the Salukis (3-4).
Errors allowed the Huskies (2-3) to tally three unearned runs off Kington but senior reliever Ian Reinhart eventually got out of the jam before any serious damage was done.
Kington scattered six hits and seven strikeouts over his 5.2 innings of work.
His offensive support came from junior catcher Mark Kelly and sophomore designated hitter Tyler Bullock.
Bullock delivered what would turn out to be the game-winning home run in the bottom of the fifth inning after junior second baseman Scott Elmendorf singled and stole second base.
Bullock said he was looking for a pitch to stroke for a line drive but it turned into a two-run homer.
"The wind was pretty ridiculous so I wasn't sure what was going to happen," Bullock said. "I knew I hit it fairly well but I didn't know it was going to make it out."
Kelly hit a two-run home run of his own in the bottom of the third inning after senior left fielder Adam Hills was hit by a pitch.
Sophomore closer Bryant George picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless 1.2 innings pitched.
Saturday's doubleheader didn't go quite as well for the Salukis.
The Huskies swept the contests at Rent One Park, winning 3-1 and 9-4 respectively.
SIU junior starter Cody Adams was the hard-luck loser in game one. Adams (0-1) put together a quality start, striking out 10 batters and only allowing two runs in 6.2 innings.
Callahan said he was impressed with Adams' performance, despite not having his best fastball.
The Saluki offense was unable to back Adams' performance, missing several opportunities to move runners into scoring position.
Junior shortstop Bobby Stevens and senior pitcher Adam Holdenrid led the Huskies to the game one victory. Stevens put the Huskies on the scoreboard immediately, sending Adams' first pitch over the left field wall.
Holdenrid (1-0) limited the Salukis to one run and six hits in six innings pitched, while striking out six.
"We got an outstanding pitching performance today," Northern Illinois coach Ed Mathey said. "We hit our spots, made our pitches when we needed to and our defense did its job."
The Salukis' lone tally came in the second inning on a RBI single by senior shortstop Owen Mackedon. Mackedon found a hole between shortstop and third base to drive home senior left fielder Dean Cademartori, who reached base after being hit by a pitch.
After struggling to score runs in the first game, SIU scored four runs through the first four innings of the second game, highlighted by a two-run, inside-the-park home run by Hills.
A sloppy fifth inning was costly for the Salukis. The Huskies capitalized on two Saluki errors and scored six runs in the top of fifth inning, en route to a 9-4 victory to complete the sweep.
Luis Medina contributed.
Matt Hartwig can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 282 or at mhartwig@siu.edu.
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