BOONEVILLE, Miss. — Fighting Illini baseball (9-7) fell in their series finale to Southern Illinois (9-12), 4-2, at The Plex on the campus of Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Jack Wenninger was untouchable through the first 5.0 innings of his start, racking up 10 strikeouts and allowing just one hit and walking two. Wenninger struck out the side in fifth, catching the final two batters looking, to cap a run of four-straight strikeouts.
With Saluki bats being kept quiet, the Illini capitalized in the fourth, when Jacob Schroeder slugged a two-out, two-run homer to left to make it 2-0. It was Schroeder’s fifth long ball of the season and the third of the series. He is also the second Illini batter this season to homer in consecutive games.
Southern Illinois would storm back in the sixth, scoring three times to make it 3-2 before increasing their lead to two by pushing a run across in the eighth.
Illinois sent the winning run to the plate twice in the ninth but were ultimately unable to come up with the decisive hit.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action on Tuesday, where they will travel to Peoria, Ill., to take on Bradley at Dozer Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Branden Comia extended his on-base streak to 56 games after going 1-for-4 with a double.
» He is just seven games away from matching Cam McDonald’s program record of 63 games, which was set last season.
» Jacob Schroeder went…
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