CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois scored the final nine runs of Saturday's doubleheader with Missouri State, overcoming a 5-1 deficit for a 6-5 victory in game one before shutting out the Bears by a 4-0 final in the nightcap at Itchy Jones Stadium.

The Bears fell to 15-14 overall and 5-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play, while SIU improved to 30-12 and 9-10 in league games.

The series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Game One Recap – Southern Illinois 6, Missouri State 5 (7 innings)
Southern Illinois scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, including three doubles and a go-ahead three-run home from Evan Martin, to take game one.

The Bears rode another solid start from Matt Russell to a 5-1 lead, as the right-hander retired the first nine batters he faced, extended his scoreless streak to 12.1 innings and earned run streak to 14.1 frames before it ended in the sixth.

Missouri State led 1-0 in the second on back-to-back doubles from Grant Wood and Dakota Kotowski, and SIU evened the scored with an unearned run in the fourth thanks to a leadoff walk, error, fielder's choice and softly hit infield single.

Kotowski opened a three-run fifth for the Bears with a leadoff single as part of his 3-for-3 game, Mason Hull followed with a triple off the left field wall and scored when Cam Cratic drove him in on a bouncer that the SIU shortstop couldn't handle. Cratic stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Jack Duffy's two-out single for a 4-1 lead.

Jaden Rolffs led off the sixth with his team-leading ninth home run of the season to make it 5-1 before the Salukis rallied in the bottom half.

A double, walk and single knocked Russell out of the game in favor of Hayden Juenger (2-2), who surrendered a double and homer to the first two Salukis he faced for SIU to complete the comeback.

Ben Whetstone led off the seventh with a double but was stranded on third as the tying run. Seven different Bears had a hit, five scored and five drove in a run in a balanced offensive attack.

Game Two Recap – Southern Illinois 4, Missouri State 0
SIU left-hander Brad Harrison tossed a complete game and struck out 10 to improve to 7-0 on the season.

The Salukis got all the offense they would need with back-to-back doubles for a 1-0 lead after an inning, added another run in the sixth thanks to two walks, a sac bunt and a balk, and finished the scoring with Philip Archer's two-run homer in the eighth.

Only two Bears advanced past first base in the game, and MSU's best scoring chance was in the fourth, when a Duffy double and Drake Baldwin single put runners on the corners with one out.

MSU starter Hayden Minton (0-3) tied a career high with six strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Hull and Baldwin collected two hits each and Hull finished the doubleheader 4-for-5 with a walk. Cratic's leadoff single in game two extended his on base streak to 15 consecutive games.