PEORIA, Ill. (Interstat) — Troy Shepard authored a historic performance on the mound Saturday, carrying a no-hit bid into the ninth inning to lead Southern Illinois to a 6-2 victory over Bradley in Missouri Valley Conference baseball at Dozer Park.

The Salukis (15-22, 2-0 MVC) secured the series win after taking the opener 10-1 on Friday. The Braves fell to 8-31 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

The story of the game was Shepard’s dominance. The Southern Illinois right-hander was untouchable for eight innings, facing just two batters over the minimum. He struck out 12, walked two and hit two batters, with the only blemish being two unearned runs in the ninth. He did not allow a hit until the final frame.

Shepard’s outing was a stark reversal from his previous start on April 11 at Evansville, where he allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. On Saturday, he overpowered a struggling Bradley lineup that managed just one hit — a ninth-inning double by Hayden Miller — and struck out 17 times as a team.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning, which preserved both Shepard’s no-hit bid and a then-narrow 2-0 lead. After two quick outs, Shepard hit Hayden Miller with a pitch and then hit Landon Lowe, putting two runners on. Shepard escaped by picking Lowe off first base for the inning-ending caught stealing, snuffing out Bradley’s best scoring threat to that point and maintaining momentum.

Southern Illinois provided its ace with early support against Bradley starter Davis Webb, who was effective in his own right with nine strikeouts over six innings, allowing two runs on three hits. The Salukis struck for two runs in the third. Mason Schwalbach singled and scored on an RBI triple by Kye Watson. Watson then scored on a throwing error by Bradley third baseman Angelo Aleman.

The Salukis added two unearned runs in the fifth off reliever Robert Sanford, capitalizing on a Bradley error and a passed ball. Kristian Sprawling scored on the error, and Cecil Lofton came home on the passed ball to make it 4-0.

Shepard continued to mow down Braves hitters, and Southern Illinois added insurance in the ninth. Watson singled and scored on an RBI double by Sprawling. Sprawling later scored on a groundout by pinch-hitter Kaleb Hall.

Shepard returned for the ninth inning seeking the complete-game no-hitter. He walked Sohrab Rezaei to start the frame, and Miller followed by breaking up the no-hit bid with a double down the left-field line, putting runners on second and third. Shepard was replaced by Blake Kimball.

Lowe and Michael Quick hit consecutive run-scoring groundouts to plate Rezaei and Miller, respectively, with the two runs charged to Shepard being unearned. Kimball then struck out Jaxon Schumacher to end the game.

Watson and Lofton each had two of Southern Illinois’ seven hits. Miller’s double was the lone hit for Bradley.

The victory improved Southern Illinois’ projected postseason chances, according to Interstat metrics, which had given the Salukis a 71.2% win probability and projected a 4-3 final score.

The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday afternoon.