MURRAY, Ky. (Interstat) — Southern Illinois scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a tie and defeat Evansville 3-2 on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Reagan Field in a Missouri Valley Conference game.

Starter Charlie Miller earned the win for the Salukis, now 25-31 overall. Miller pitched eight innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out six. He walked two and threw 107 pitches. Meade Johnson pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn the save, striking out all three batters he faced.

Evansville starter Tanner Graham delivered an outstanding performance that went for naught. Graham pitched five hitless innings, striking out five batters and walking two. He threw 62 pitches before being relieved by Kevin Reed to start the sixth inning. The Purple Aces fell to 21-33.

Evansville scored its only two runs in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Reid Haire singled through the left side and advanced to second on a groundout. After a wild pitch moved Haire to third, Reagan Reed hit a home run down the left-field line, giving Evansville a 2-0 lead.

The Salukis tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning against Reed. Michael Mylott led off with a double to left field. Jacob McKenzie followed with an RBI double to right center, scoring Mylott. McKenzie moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Gabe Petrucelli and scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Jaden Flores. Mason Schwalbach then doubled to left center but was stranded.

Southern Illinois took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. McKenzie singled up the middle to lead off. Petrucelli singled to left center, moving McKenzie to second. Jackson Dibble pinch ran for McKenzie. Jaden Flores then reached on a fielder’s choice, and a throwing error by the shortstop allowed Dibble to score the go-ahead run. The Salukis loaded the bases, but Schwalbach flied into a double play to end the inning.

Miller retired the side in order in the seventh inning and worked around a two-out walk in the eighth. Johnson struck out the side in order in the ninth, fanning Haire, Drew McConnell and Reagan Reed to end the game. McConnell reached on a leadoff walk and Reed walked with one out, but Johnson induced two strikeouts to end the threat.

For Southern Illinois, McKenzie finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Mylott went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Petrucelli was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks. Schwalbach had a double in four at-bats. Kristian Sprawling doubled in four at-bats.

For Evansville, Reed drove in both runs with his home run. Haire had two hits in four at-bats. The Purple Aces managed only four hits in the game.

Evansville had won the previous day’s game 4-1 but entered the week having lost three of its previous four games. The teams have split their season series at two wins each. Southern Illinois had lost seven of its previous nine games before Thursday.

Southern Illinois will face Illinois-Chicago on Friday in Murray. Evansville will play Illinois State on Friday. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Southern Illinois 6, Evansville 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Southern Illinois a 56.90 percent probability to win.