CARBONDALE, Ill. – Brennyn Cutts recorded his fourth consecutive quality start and Grant Magill drove in five RBIs, including a seventh-inning grand slam, as Indiana State held off Southern Illinois' late rally to even the series with a 9-7 win on Saturday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.
 
Leading 3-1 with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, Magill delivered with a two-out grand slam over the wall in left center field scoring Adam Pottinger, Luis Hernandez, and Dominic Listi to give Indiana State the 7-1 advantage. Luis Hernandez added more insurance in the top of the eighth inning with a two-run single scoring Randal Diaz and Josue Urdaneta to put the Sycamores ahead 9-1.
 
Cutts (6-1) went into the eighth inning as the junior right-hander continues one of the most dominant months on the mound across the country as the Greenup, Ill. native posted his fourth consecutive quality start. He went 7.0 innings allowing three hits and two runs while striking out six, before turning the ball over to the bullpen with a 9-1 lead in the eighth.
 
The Salukis (25-18, 9-8) responded with a six-run rally with none out in the eighth sparked by Jake Allgeyer's three-run home run over the right field wall, while Nathan Bandy added a bases-loaded, three-run double down the left field line to cut the ISU lead down to 9-7.
 
Zach Davidson (S, 3) took over for the Sycamores from there and the senior left-hander ended the SIU rally getting a fly out to center field, before Mike Sears snagged a line drive at third base and beat Bandy to the bag to double up the Saluki runner and end the rally.
 
After the Sycamores failed to scored in the top of the ninth, Davidson pitched around a leadoff single in the bottom of the frame getting a pair of strikeouts before recording the final fly out to left to close out the contest.
 
Luis Hernandez had four of Indiana State's 10 hits in the contest to lead the Sycamore batters, while Magill went 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored. Indiana State worked the SIU pitching staff in drawing eight walks and getting hit by three pitches to keep the pressure on the Salukis throughout the game.
 
Cutts carried a no-hitter through the first three innings and allowed just one runner in scoring position throughout the contest. Simon Gregersen allowed four hits and five runs during the SIU rally in the eighth, before Davidson went the final two frames posting a pair of strikeouts in the save.
 
Allgeyer and Bandy combined for four of SIU's eight hits and six of the team's seven RBIs in the loss. Cole Christman added a double for SIU.
Ben Riffe (2-3) took the loss allowing three hits and three runs while striking out three over 3.0 innings of work. Cole Koonce, Alec Nigut, Scott Harper, Sam Myers, and Jake Combs went the final six innings on the mound for SIU.
 
How They Scored

• Randal Diaz singled through the left side scoring Joe Kido in the top of the second inning to stake Indiana State to an early 1-0 lead.
• The Sycamores added two more runs in the top of the fourth as Grant Magill doubled home Mike Sears, while Magill scored on a double play ball to make it a 3-0 Indiana State lead.
• Mathieu Vallee put the Salukis on the board with a single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth scoring Nathan Bandy to cut the Indiana State lead to 3-1.
• Magill connected on a two-out grand slam in the top of the seventh inning scoring Adam Pottinger, Luis Hernandez, and Dominic Listi to give the Sycamores a 7-1 lead.
• Hernandez made it 9-1 Sycamores in the top of the eighth with a bases-loaded two-run single to left center scoring Diaz and Josue Urdaneta to stake Indiana State to an eight-run lead.
• The Salukis rallied back with Jake Allgeyer's three-run home run to right field and Bandy's three-run double down the left field line to cut the deficit down to 9-7, before Mike Sears snagged a line drive and doubled off Bandy from third base to end the SIU rally and provide the final scoring margin. 

News & Notes

• Indiana State moves to 39-7-1 in Missouri Valley play dating back to the end of the 2022 season following Saturday's win over the Salukis.
• The Sycamores are 16-0 in the second game over the 16-series stretch following Saturday's win.
• Grant Magill connected on his second collegiate grand slam in the top of the seventh and Indiana State's sixth grand slam of the 2024 season in Saturday's win. Magill connected on his first grand slam last season at Memphis on March 10, 2023, in ISU's 5-1 win at the Tigers.
• Magill's grand slam makes him the sixth different Sycamore to hit a grand slam this season joining Randal Diaz (vs. Marshall – Feb. 25), Parker Stinson (at Southern Miss – Mar. 3), Mike Sears (at Florida A&M – Mar. 10), Adam Pottinger (vs. Bradley – Apr. 14), and Luis Hernandez (vs. Bradley – Apr. 14).
• Brennyn Cutts posted his fourth consecutive quality start in the month of April. Cutts has gone 28.0 innings allowing nine hits, and three runs, while striking out 25 batters over the stretch in recording a 0.96 ERA over the stretch.
• Zach Davidson went 2.0 scoreless innings in relief in posting his third save of the season.
• ISU became the first MVC team to hit 30 wins in the 2024 season as the Sycamores hit the wins mark for the 33rd time in program history. It marks the first time Indiana State has posted back-to-back 30-plus win seasons since the 2018 & 2019 years.

Up Next
Indiana State closes out the weekend series at Southern Illinois on Sunday afternoon with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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