CARBONDALE, Ill. (Interstat) — Gabriel Nutter threw three scoreless innings of relief and Joshua Heyder homered as SIU Edwardsville held off Southern Illinois 9-7 on Tuesday at Abe Martin Field.

The Cougars improved to 31-21, while the Salukis dropped to 21-29.

Nutter entered with one out in the fourth inning after Southern Illinois had taken a 4-2 lead on Jacob McKenzie’s two-run homer in the third. The right-hander retired all nine batters he faced, striking out two and allowing no hits over three innings. He was credited as the winning pitcher.

SIU Edwardsville answered immediately in the top of the fourth. Ryan Niedzwiedz singled and scored on Ethan Willoughby’s single. Joshua Heyder singled ahead of Willoughby, then Mitchell’s single drove in Heyder. J. Fichera’s fielder’s choice brought in Willoughby, and Mitchell scored on a caught-stealing play during the same sequence, giving the Cougars a 7-4 lead.

The Cougars added two more in the fifth. C. Bloomer scored on Niedzwiedz’s double, and Niedzwiedz came home on Willoughby’s second RBI single of the game. SIU Edwardsville pushed its lead to 9-4 in the sixth when Fichera scored on D. Gierer’s groundout.

Southern Illinois chipped away in the seventh. Kristian Sprawling doubled and scored on Kye Watson’s sacrifice fly. The Salukis made it 9-6 in the ninth when Sprawling doubled again, driving in Bryce Habuda, who had walked and entered as a pinch runner. After a walk to Watson, Michael Mylott singled through the left side to score Sprawling, cutting the deficit to two. But Brennen Grams, the Cougars’ fourth pitcher, struck out Julio Guerrero and induced a fielder’s choice from McKenzie to end the game.

Heyder went 3 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Willoughby finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Niedzwiedz was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

For Southern Illinois, Sprawling collected three hits, including two doubles, and drove in a run. McKenzie’s homer accounted for two RBIs.

SIU Edwardsville entered the game on a five-game winning streak after sweeping a three-game series at Eastern Illinois, outscoring the Panthers 39-15 over the weekend. Southern Illinois had won three straight at Belmont before returning home.

The Cougars will host Tennessee-Martin for a three-game series starting Thursday. The Salukis will host Valparaiso beginning the same day.

Interstat’s game simulator projected an 8-5 SIU Edwardsville victory, while the Interstat ELO system gave Southern Illinois a 58.10 percent probability to win.