Southern Illinois sent 13 men to the plate in a seven-run second inning on Sunday and then coasted to an 8-4 victory over Stetson at Melching Field, clinching a sweep of the Hatters.
 
It is the 11^th time Stetson has lost at least three straight games to start a season in its 100-years of playing collegiate baseball. The last time the Hatters were swept to open a season was 2014 against Ole Miss.
 
Stetson junior starting pitcher Ben Onyshko (0-1) took the brunt of damage from the Salukis (3-0) on Sunday. SIU plated a single run in the first inning when Connor Kopach led off the game with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Greg Lambert.
 
Consecutive infield singles by Drew Curtis and Will Farmer top open the second set the stage for the Salukis' big inning. Mitch Fairfield's RBI single was followed by a walk and a run-scoring single by Ryan Smith for a 3-0 lead. Lambert's second sac fly made it 4-0. Onyshko then walked Logan Blackfan to reload the bases before being pulled from the game.
 
Jake Hand greeted reliever Joey Gonzalez with a blast into the left field corner that Stetson freshman Austin Bogart chased to, and through, the fence. Bogart hit the double gate used to move the batting cage on and off the field at full speed, swinging the gate open and rolling out of the field of play.
 
By the time Jacob Koos retrieved the ball and returned it to the infield, Hand had raced all the way around for an inside-the-park grand slam.
 
"We had good confidence in Ben from what have seen so far, but he just did not have very good stuff today," Hatters coach Steve Trimper said. "He pitched from behind the whole time his was out there, and that is tough to do against a good hitting team."
 
With an early 8-0 lead, SIU starter Joey Marciano coasted through four innings of work to get the win. He allowed just two hits and struck out four.
 
Once Marciano left the mound, the Hatters were able to produce some runs against the SIU bullpen. Senior Austin McPheron was unable to complete two full innings, allowing the Hatters to plate three runs in the sixth. Colton Lightner and Mike Spooner opened the frame with hits before Andrew MacNeil drew a walk to load the bases.
 
The Hatters had some bad luck when Jorge Arenas ripped a ball up the middle but Kopach, playing second base, was able to knock it down and turn a double play. Bogart followed with an RBI single and, after Charlie Watters was hit by a pitch, freshman catcher Chris Tidwell greeted reliever Jacob Williams with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 8-3.
 
Stetson added another run off Williams in the seventh when MacNeil doubled home Spooner, who had drawn a two-out walk.
 
"We came into the game with a goal of getting five runs on the board because I thought that would have kept us in it," Trimper said. "Down 4-0, you still have a chance, but after that seven-run inning it is monumental. I hope we can become the type of team that can come back and win a slugfest, but we aren't there yet."
 
The Stetson bullpen kept the Salukis off the board the rest of the day, allowing just three hits after the second inning. Sophomore Logan Gilbert was dominant for four-plus frames, allowing one hit with five strikeouts. Freshman Mitchell Senger gave up two hits and three walks over his 2.1 innings before senior Tyler Keller came on for the final two outs.
 
"It was nice to see Logan get out there and pitch well and Mitchell also pitched well," Trimper said. "You hate to have a baptism by fire, but that is where we are, both as a team and a coaching staff. I think we learned a lot this weekend, but we have to get better. We made a lot of mistakes where, if we had just executed a few little things, we could have easily won the weekend series."
 
Bogart led Stetson with two hits in the game while Smith and Farmer had three each to lead SIU.
 
Stetson will have just one day to put the opening weekend behind them before hosting Siena in a two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Saints were also swept on the opening weekend of the season, losing 17-6, 3-0 and 7-2 at UCF.
 
"Even though we gave up that big inning early today, the dugout still had a lot of energy," Trimper said. "I told the team that I am not going to blow a gasket on them unless they don't play hard or aren't in the game. It is college baseball and so many things can happen. We are a young team and we are going to grow. The attitude is important and I was pleased with that. I told them after the second to go out and win the next seven innings, and they did that."
 
 
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.