MURRAY, Ky. (Interstat) — Illinois-Chicago defeated Southern Illinois 11-1 on Thursday afternoon at Reagan Field in a Missouri Valley Conference contest. The Flames improved to 25-27, while the Salukis fell to 24-31.

Mason Lei earned the win, pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run on five hits with eight strikeouts. Thomas Curry led the offense, going 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs. Ashton Kampa homered and drove in three runs. Jake Busson went 2 for 2 with a homer and two RBIs, and Will Flanigan added a solo homer. Lucas Smith had an RBI groundout. Gavin Acosta went 1 for 2.

For Southern Illinois, Michael Mylott went 2 for 3. Troy Shepard took the loss, surrendering 10 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Illinois-Chicago scored two in the first on Curry’s two-run homer. Southern Illinois tied it in the second on Jacob McKenzie’s RBI single, but the Flames answered with a homer from Flanigan. A three-run homer by Kampa in the fourth made it 6-1. The Flames broke the game open with five runs in the sixth, capped by Busson’s two-run homer. Illinois-Chicago outhit Southern Illinois 9-5.