CARBONDALE, Ill. – Matt Schark delivered a career night with three home runs and seven RBIs to power Southern Illinois past Evansville, 13-3, in seven innings Saturday at Itchy Jones Stadium. The victory evened the weekend series and pushed the Salukis to 34-16 overall and 14-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Schark became the first Saluki since 2002 (Jeff Stanek, vs Creighton) to hit three home runs in a game, including a three-run shot in the third and a pair of no-doubt blasts in the fourth and fifth innings. The senior third baseman has now tied the single-season home run mark with 19 homers on the season and 67 RBIs, both of which lead the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Salukis poured on the offense early, scoring in four of the first six innings and needing just 10 hits to produce 13 runs. Southern batted around in both the third and fourth innings, tallying five runs in the third and six more in the fourth to blow the game open.
John Lemm, Tim Simay and Kaleb Hall each reached base multiple times. Hall drove in five runs – two on a third-inning homer and three more on a fourth-inning double – while Simay went 2-for-3 with a solo shot of his own. Jaxon Holder and Marcus Simay each doubled, and Jordan Bach added a single and a walk.
Jackson Payne (4-0) earned the win with five shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out three. Payne pitched to contact, inducing eight flyouts and keeping the Aces off balance through five frames. The Salukis carried a 12-0 lead into the sixth before Evansville scratched across three runs off the bullpen.
After Payne exited, Cole Koonce and Blaine Harpenau combined to get through the sixth, with senior right-hander Andrew Yusypchuk recording the final out in the seventh to close the door. SIU’s defense turned one double play and committed just one error.
Evansville’s starter, Cade Reed, was tagged for 10 runs in 3.1 innings and took the loss. The Aces (15-34) were held to six hits and left six runners on base.
