Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University's baseball team secured a 9-3 victory over UT Martin on Tuesday night at Skyhawk Field. The win was fueled by effective offense and a solid performance from starting pitcher Tyler Timmerman.

The Salukis, now holding a 16-7 record, took an early lead with a two-run first inning, featuring a two-run triple by Gabe Petrucelli. Their advantage grew with Kaleb Hall's sacrifice fly in the second and Mason Schwalbach's two-run homer in the third, making it 5-1.

SIU maintained momentum with a three-run eighth inning, highlighted by Matt Schark's three-run home run—his seventh of the season.

Timmerman (3-1) pitched for 5.2 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and striking out five batters. Relievers Dalton Petrey and Garrett Wernsing completed the game with 3.1 innings combined, allowing no further scoring threats from UT Martin.

The Skyhawks (10-14) left 11 runners stranded during the game. They managed to score via Wesley Popick’s RBI single in the sixth and Chase Greene’s sacrifice fly in the ninth but couldn't overcome SIU's lead.

Southern Illinois tallied ten hits in total, with multiple RBIs from Schark, Petrucelli, and Schwalbach. Jaxon Holder contributed with a double and scored once. Although UT Martin also recorded ten hits, they struggled to convert them into runs when needed.

UT Martin’s Long (0-1) suffered the loss after conceding five runs over three innings. Cole Capps led their offense going 3-for-4 at bat while Popick added two hits alongside his RBI.

Southern Illinois will host UT Martin again on Wednesday at Itchy Jones Stadium at 6 p.m.

Fans can follow Southern Illinois Baseball on social media platforms such as X (@SIU_Baseball), Facebook (Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball), Instagram (@SIU_Baseball), or through the "Salukis" Mobile App available on both App Store and Google Play Store.