Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University's baseball team defeated Western Illinois 6-3 on Tuesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium. The victory improved the Salukis' record to 13-6, while the Leathernecks fell to 5-12.

The highlight of the game was a three-run home run by senior infielder Matt Schark in the third inning. This was Schark's fifth home run of the season and drove in teammates Jordan Bach and Jaxon Holder, giving SIU an early lead.

In the fourth inning, Kaleb Hall hit an RBI triple that brought Cecil Lofton home, extending Southern Illinois' lead to 4-0. Western Illinois responded with a run in the fifth from an infield single by Liam Bushey and narrowed the gap further with Brock Lummus's two-run homer in the sixth.

Southern Illinois quickly regained momentum. A sacrifice fly from Bach allowed Hall to advance to third base, followed by Gabe Petrucelli drawing a walk that scored another run for SIU.

Tyler Timmerman started on the mound for Southern Illinois and earned his second win of the season. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three batters. The bullpen maintained control through five relievers who limited Western Illinois to two runs over 4.2 innings, with Sam Frizzi securing his third save.

The Salukis recorded nine hits during the game, with multiple hits coming from Schark, Lofton, and Hall. For Western Illinois, Lummus led with a perfect batting performance going 3-for-3 including a home run.

Southern Illinois will begin Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend against UIC at Itchy Jones Stadium. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.

Fans can follow updates about Southern Illinois baseball through their social media channels or via their mobile app available on both iOS and Android platforms.