Northern Illinois 7
Saint Louis 3
March 16
A disastrous sixth inning marred by four errors ultimately led to SLU falling at the hands of the Huskies, 7-3.
Things were all knotted up at one in the fifth inning. In the sixth, a combination of four defensive miscues by the Billikens and three hits by the Huskies allowed Northern to score six runs and break the game open.
In the bottom of the ninth, SLU made some noise, driving two runs in and loading the bases with two outs, but were unable to convert. Zack Smith took the loss for SLU.
Saint Louis 6
Southern Illinois 8
March 18
Senior slugger Jon Myers came up big for the Billikens, driving in three runs to spark the offense in an 8-4 victory over the Salukis.
Alex Alemann got the call on the mound, surrendering three earned runs over six innings of work. The win lifted his record to 2-0 on the year.
Jon Levin iced the Southern Illinois offense out of the bullpen, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to preserve the lead.
Senior Nick Becker reached base in all four at-bats, scoring three times.
Northern Illinois 1
Saint Louis 7
March 20
In the final game of SLU’s gauntlet against opponents from the state of Illinois, the Billikens avenged an earlier loss to the Huskies by a score of 7-1. The win gave head coach Darin Hendrickson his 100th career victory at SLU.
In only four seasons, Hendrickson became only the third head coach in school history to amass 100 wins.
The entire starting lineup either hit safely or crossed the plate. Freshman Brett Vanover allowed only one run over seven innings and walked only one batter.
Western Illinois 6
Saint Louis 8
March 16
Left-fielder Cody Cotter scored three times to help the Billikens top the Leathernecks by a score of 8-6.
The pitching staff worked in a committee throughout the game with head coach Hendrickson sending five different hurlers to the hill, none of them throwing more than three innings.
Freshman Derrick Mazzio picked up his first win of the season.
Illinois 7
Saint Louis 3
March 19
The Billikens were clinging to a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning before surrendering three runs to the Fighting Illini in the next frame.
Sophomore C.J. Rose had a solid day at the dish, going two-for-four and driving in a run. Junior Jerry Mancuso gave up five runs in five innings before being relieved.
The loss dropped the Billikens record to 12-6 for the year.
Saint Louis 7
SEMO 3
March 22
SLU tallied 20 hits, a season high, and Jon Myers blasted two solo home runs, his first two of the season, and upped his average to .295 after a slow start to the year.
Sophomore Jordan Hammerman was locked in, driving in four runs on three hits. The victory lifted SLU’s record to 14-6 on the year. The Billikens open up conference play on March 25 against Saint Joseph’s.
