Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois faced a narrow defeat in the opening game of their series against Tennessee Tech, with a final score of 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in Cookeville, Tennessee.

The Salukis' bullpen delivered five shutout innings but could not generate sufficient offense to overcome the early deficit. Tennessee Tech established an initial lead of 1-0 with a sacrifice fly by Preston Steele.

In the second inning, Southern Illinois had an opportunity to tie or take the lead with runners on second and third and only one out. However, Tech's starting pitcher Jaxson Pease (2-0) successfully escaped the situation by inducing a ground ball and securing a strikeout.

The Golden Eagles extended their advantage to three runs following an RBI double from Carter Vrabel in the third inning. This sequence forced Southern Illinois starter Jordan Huskey (0-2) out of the game after allowing three earned runs over 2.1 innings.

Southern Illinois managed to score in the sixth inning when Cecil Lofton hit a double that brought Kaleb Hall home. John Lemm added an RBI groundout to reduce the gap to one run as they entered the final innings.

Despite strong performances from their bullpen, including four scoreless innings from Jackson Payne who struck out three batters, Southern Illinois could not equalize. Tanner Gerdes and Sam Frizzi handled the last five outs before Reece Mcduffie (S, 1) closed for Tennessee Tech with three scoreless innings.

Jordan Bach was notable for Southern Illinois, achieving two hits out of four at-bats.

Looking ahead, Southern Illinois is set to continue their series against Tennessee Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Fans can stay updated on all developments by following Southern Illinois Baseball on X (@SIU_Baseball), Facebook (Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball), and Instagram (@SIU_Baseball). The "Salukis" Mobile App is also available for download via the App Store or Google Play Store.