CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Salukis rallied from a four-run deficit in the final two innings and plated the game-winning run in the bottom of the 15th for a 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference victory over the Braves Friday afternoon at Abe Martin Field. The two clubs combined for 25 hits and used 10 total pitchers in the extra-inning contest.

The Bradley youngsters manufactured a run in the top of the second to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Freshman designated hitter David Compitello (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg H.S.) led off the inning with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error by the Salukis' third baseman. Freshman first baseman Mike Tauchman (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) sacrificed Compitello to third and freshman shortstop Jason Leblebijian (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) drove in the run with an RBI groundout.

Freshman outfielder Christian Segar (Mendon, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit H.S.) gave Bradley a 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, while senior catcher Kevin Sullivan (Elmhurst, Ill./Oakton J.C./York H.S.) added an RBI groundout in the fifth to make the score 3-0. In the sixth, Segar ripped an RBI double to left field that scored Tauchman and put the Braves up 4-0.

Southern Illinois finally broke through in the eighth with three runs on four hits, including a two-run double by Chris Serritella, to pull within one, 4-3, and tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out RBI double from Chris Murphy.

The Braves and Salukis traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the 15th, when SIU's Brock Harding ended the game with a two-out RBI single to left field, 5-4.

Bradley junior right-hander Patrick Cooper (Danville, Ky./Des Moines Area C.C./Boyle County H.S.) pitched well in his sixth start of the season, scattering three hits and one run over 7.0 innings of work. Freshman right-hander Andy Johnson (Medina, Minn./Wayzata H.S.) took the loss on the mound for the Braves, allowing one run on two hits in 1.2 innings, while Segar finished 3-for-6 with two RBI's to pace the Bradley offense.

The Braves (6-14, 0-4 MVC) and Salukis (12-14, 2-2 MVC) will continue their three-game set Saturday with game two at 2 p.m.