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WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State scored 15 runs on 16 hits to eliminate the Southern Illinois Salukis from the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at Eck Stadium with a 15-1 victory.
After falling to the top seed and eighth-ranked Missouri State Bears just a night ago, the No. 4 seed Shockers (26-32) will meet MSU again tonight to try and hand the Bears their first loss of the double elimination tournament. Southern Illinois' season ends with a record of 12-46.
Six Shockers recorded multi-hit games, led by
Bob Arens who went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored.
Daniel Kihle and
Mikel Mucha each went 3-for-5, while Kihle tripled and scored four runs and Mucha drove in three.
Ryan Tinkham was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.
Chase Williams received the start on the mound for WSU and proceeded to throw a complete game, while allowing just one run on four hits. Williams struck out five batters in his first career complete game.
Greg Lambert was 1-for-2 for SIU with two walks, while Dyllin Mucha and Taylor Martin each had a double. Southern Illinois starting pitcher Colin Holderman went 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on five hits and striking out two.
Kihle kick started the Shocker offense in the first inning by lining a leadoff triple into the right-center gap. Two batters later, Tinkham belted his 10th home run of the season to left-center for a quick 2-0 WSU lead.
SIU closed the gap to 2-1 following a leadoff double from Dyllin Mucha who then scored two batters later on an RBI groundout from Will Farmer.
The Shockers tacked on three more runs in the top half of the fourth on an RBI groundout from
Chase Rader and a two-run home run from Arens to give WSU a 5-1 lead. Rader would collect his second RBI groundout just an inning later to make it 6-1.
In the top of the sixth, Kihle singled and stole second before Hilliard laced an RBI single to center. Wichita State scored three more runs on a bases loaded hit by pitch from Tinkham, a sacrifice fly from Mucha and an RBI single from Troutwine to take a 10-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth.
WSU hung another crooked number in the top of the ninth by scoring five runs on a bases loaded walk from Kihle, an RBI single by Tinkham, a two-run double by Mucha and a sac fly from
Zach Reding.