MURRAY, Ky. – No. 4 Southern Illinois rallied late to upset No. 2 Indiana State in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon at Johnny Reagan Field as the Salukis took the 7-5 win ending the Sycamores' 2026 season with the loss.
Carter Beck connected on solo home runs in both the first and fifth innings for Indiana State (30-27) as the Sycamores held the 2-0 lead throughout the majority of the contest, before SIU (26-31) tied the game up in the eighth inning.
The Salukis evened the game on Jaden Flores' two-out RBI single, before taking their first lead of the contest in the top of the ninth. SIU sent 11 batters to the plate and loaded the bases with one out before Tim Simay connected on the go-ahead RBI single to left field scoring Julio Guerrero. Kaleb Hall broke the game open and cleared the bases with a grand slam to stake the Salukis to a 7-2 lead.
Indiana State rallied back in the bottom of the ninth against SIU reliever Meade Johnson as
Nick Sutherlin and
Andrew Ortiz led off the inning with back-to-back singles, before
Jeremy Martinez connected on a three-run home run to right field to cut the deficit down to 7-5. However, Johnson bounced back to retire the next three batters to close out the game.
Jeremy Martinez finished with three of Indiana State's eight hits in the contest including his third home run of the 2026 season.
Carter Beck added a pair of home runs to run his team-leading total to 16 on the year, while
Nomar Garcia added his 11th stolen base.
Ty Brooks worked 5.0 scoreless innings in the start allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three.
Colby Morse worked 2.0 innings, while
Justin Hoff,
Jack Armstrong,
Carson Seeman, and
Spencer Johnsen all saw time on the mound late in the contest.
How They Scored
- Carter Beck went green light on a 3-0 count in the bottom of the first inning and drove the ball over the center field wall going 423-feet off the bat for a solo home run to put Indiana State ahead 1-0.
- The Sycamores went up 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning as Carter Beck connected on his second home run of the day, driving the ball 456-feet over the right field wall for the solo shot.
- SIU tied the game up at 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning as Michael Mylott scored on a double play ball, while Jaden Flores' infield single brought home Jackson Dibble.
- The Salukis utilized a five-run top of the ninth with Tim Simay's RBI single scoring Julio Guerrero, before Kaleb Hall connected on a grand slam to center to put SIU ahead 7-2.
- Indiana State cut into the lead on Jeremy Martinez's three-run home run to right field scoring Andrew Ortiz and Nick Sutherlin to provide the final 7-5 scoring margin.
News & Notes
- Carter Beck recorded his third multi-homer game of the 2026 season after connecting on solo shots in both the first and fifth innings.
- Carter Beck finished with a team-high 16 home runs on the year, marking the most by a Sycamore since Mike Sears hit 24 in the 2024 season.
- Carter Beck finished the year with 62 runs scored, marking the most by an Indiana State player since Ryan Strausborger scored 63 times in the 2010 season.
- Jeremy Martinez connected on his third home run of the season and first since hitting on a three-run shot on May 15 against Belmont.
- Indiana State falls to 81-68 all-time at the MVC Baseball Championships.
- The Sycamores recorded their 33rd 30-win season in wrapping up the year with a 30-27 record on the season.
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