The Stetson Hatters squared off against the best pitcher the Missouri Valley Conference has to offer on Saturday afternoon at Melching Field, and Southern Illinois' Michael Baird showed why he was the preseason Pitcher of the Year in that league.
 
Baird held the Hatters to just three hits over 6.2 innings of work in a 7-0 Salukis victory. The win for SIU (2-0) clinched the opening series with Stetson (0-2) and ties the all-time series record at 8-8. Stetson will try to avoid suffering a season-opening sweep when the teams meet in the final game of the series on Sunday at noon.
 
"It was all about approach today," Hatters coach Steve Trimper said. "Last night, our approach was pretty good but their pitcher did a great job today. He probably threw 80 percent off-speed and we didn't make the adjustment to try to go up the middle. That is a frustrating thing with young hitters. We can talk about it, but we have to do it. I talk a lot about being a doer or a sayer. Today, we said it, but didn't do it."
 
Baird, who posted a 9-4 record with a 1.74 ERA last spring, struck out six while walking just one to earn his first win of the year. His only true adversity came in the seventh inning when he allowed a leadoff single to Austin Hale to open the inning and a two-out single to Jorge Arenas.
 
The Salukis turned to freshman left-hander Bradley Harrison with the Hatters threatening, and he responded by striking out Charlie Watters to end the inning. Harrison allowed just one base runner, on a walk, the rest of the way to earn his first collegiate save.
 
"To win, we need someone to get a two-out RBI and we are going to need someone to use their legs and get a stolen base or two," Trimper said. "Those things didn't happen today. We had one chance when it was a 1-0 game when we had two runners on and they brought a lefty in to face Chuck. That is where you need to get that double. We didn't get a good swing there and missed a chance to score."
 
The only bright spot in the game for Stetson was the performance of sophomore starting pitcher Jack Perkins (0-1). Despite taking the loss, Perkins allowed just one run on four hits over 7.1 innings of work. He walked one and struck out six.
 
"There was not much good today except for Jack Perkins, who pitched and competed very well," Trimper said. "That was the guy we have been seeing for the three weeks leading up to the season. If we can get that out of him every week, that gives us a second quality starter. He pitched well enough to keep us in the game, we just couldn't get any kind of offense going today."
 
The wheels fell off for Stetson after Perkins left the game. The trio of freshman Austin Bogart, junior Dean Garabedian and Tyler Keller allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks over just an inning and a third as the Salukis put the game away late.
 
The biggest hits for SIU came with two-out in an inning, much like they did on Friday. Greg Lambert drove in the first two SIU runs with two-out singles in the sixth and eighth. Nick Hutchins followed with a two-run single in the eighth. Logan Blackfan then put the icing on the cake for the Salukis with a two-out, two-run single in the ninth.
 
"That was very uncharacteristic because those three guys have all been pitching well," Trimper said. "With Bogart, we had thought about closing him, but we wanted to get him into a game with a situation where he could get some outs. He didn't have very good stuff today. We have gotten a lot from Garabedian and Keller in scrimmages and I hope what we saw today doesn't become a trend. We have to get those guys on track."
 
Trimper said he is looking forward to seeing how his young team will respond to the adversity of back-to-back losses to start the year.
 
"This is a great test of our makeup," Trimper said. "We are going to find out what we do when there is an adverse situation. It is easy when the lights aren't on and the record is zero and zero.
 
"This is a golden opportunity in this young season to see how we react. I can tell them to flush it and grind through it, but I want to see their approach tomorrow and see what is different. We have to change it around. I am looking for their reaction more than anything."

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.