PEORIA, Ill. (Interstat) — Southern Illinois broke open a tight Missouri Valley Conference contest with a six-run sixth inning, highlighted by Cecil Lofton’s grand slam, and rode dominant pitching to a 10-1 victory over Bradley on Friday night at Dozer Park.

The Salukis (14-22, 3-7 MVC) sent 11 batters to the plate in the decisive sixth, capitalizing on a Bradley error to ignite the rally. With the bases loaded and one out, Kye Watson lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score an unearned run. After a hit-by-pitch reloaded the bases, Lofton connected on a 1-0 pitch from reliever Joey Cirelli, driving it over the left-field fence for a grand slam, his first home run of the season. All four runs were unearned, turning a 3-1 lead into an 8-1 advantage.

That outburst provided more than enough support for a Southern Illinois pitching staff that combined to allow just five hits while striking out 11. Starter Andrew Evans set the tone, earning the win with 4 2/3 strong innings. He allowed one run on four hits, walking one and striking out five. The lone run against him came in the fifth on an RBI single by Sohrab Rezaei that scored Jaxon Schumacher, who had led off the inning with a double.

Evans gave way to Jack MacIntosh with two on and two out in the fifth. MacIntosh escaped the jam and proceeded to throw 2 1/3 perfect innings of relief, striking out two. Alec Ammerman closed the game with two hitless innings, fanning four Braves batters. Over the final 4 1/3 innings, Salukis relievers did not allow a hit.

Bradley (8-30, 2-8) struggled to generate offense beyond the fifth inning. Starter Gavin Thompson took the loss despite a solid effort, allowing one earned run on eight hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked one. The Braves bullpen, however, could not contain the Salukis in the middle innings.

Southern Illinois added two more runs in the seventh on a two-run homer by Jaden Flores, his second hit of the night. The Salukis finished with 12 hits, with Lofton driving in four and Flores adding two RBIs. Kristian Sprawling went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and scored three runs.

The most important sequence of the game was the two-out rally in the sixth. Following Watson’s sacrifice fly, Tim Simay was hit by a pitch to extend the inning for Lofton, whose grand slam transformed a manageable deficit into a commanding lead from which the struggling Braves could not recover.

Bradley’s offense was held to five hits, with Rezaei recording the only RBI. The Braves left six runners on base.

The victory improved Southern Illinois to 14-22 overall and 3-7 in MVC play. Bradley fell to 8-30 and 2-8. The teams continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon.