DALLAS, Texas – The Southern Illinois baseball extended its season with a 5-4 win over Evansville in 12 innings at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Logan Blackfan hit a single in the 12th, and Nikola Vasic was called out at home plate; but after video review, the call was reversed when replay showed Vasic getting his hand to the plate before the tag was applied. 

“Niko said immediately that he got under it,” SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. “It’s not like the MLB when we can call our video guy and ask if we should review something. Credit the umpires; they immediately went to the review to get it right. It was a new experience for all of us. At the end of the day, they got the call right, and nobody can argue it because it’s on video.”

The game went back-and-forth during the regulation nine innings. After Evansville’s early 1-0 lead, the Salukis (28-29) scored three unanswered runs to take a 3-1 lead. Evansville (12-39) regained the lead in the eighth, but Connor Kopach tied the game with a clutch two-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning. The game went to the 12th before Blackfan’s walk-off RBI single.

“I’m proud of our perseverance,” Henderson said. “We struggled to score runs all day long, but we kept battling and kept grinding. Our pitchers kept giving us a chance. We had a ton of opportunities. Finally, we had the right guy up in Blackfan, and he came through.”

Brad Harrison started the game on the mound for SIU and allowed just one run in 5.2 innings. Allen Montgomery got out of a jam in the sixth and allowed just one run in the seventh. After Ryan Netemeyer gave up the lead when Evansville scored twice in the eighth (one earned), he made huge pitches in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Trey McDaniel pitched three scoreless innings to close the game and earn the win.

“We pitched well all day long,” Henderson said. “Harrison was really good. He was worn out because it’s so hot on that turf. Pitcher after pitcher did a great job. Montgomery did a great job. I’m really proud of Netemeyer. They took the lead in the eighth, and he goes back out and throws up a zero. McDaniel was great. The key to the game was only walking one guy in the last 6.1 innings. That was huge. Even though they scored, we made them earn everything they were going to get.”

Kopach—who had two clutch hits late in yesterday’s game against Indiana State (a go-ahead homer and game-tying double)—came through again today. With SIU trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning, Nikola Vasic drew a two-out walk in the eighth inning and stole second. Kopach singled in an 0-2 count to tie the game.

“To me, that’s the big one,” Henderson said. “At that time, it’s late in the game and you’re down. It’s easy to give in at that point, and we didn’t do it.”

SIU pulled out the win despite setting an MVC record with 17 men left on base. The Salukis drew 14 walks and had four batters hit by a pitch.

The game was an elimination game in the tournament, so SIU kept its season alive and ended Evansville’s season. The Salukis will play another elimination game at 9 a.m. on Friday morning against the loser of the Missouri State-Indiana State game, which will be played Thursday evening.