CARBONDALE, Ill. - SIU's Blake Pinnon belted a two-out solo homerun in the bottom of the eighth for the eventual game-winning run as Southern Illinois (13-14, 3-2 MVC) topped Bradley (6-15, 0-5 MVC) 3-1 in Missouri Valley Conference action Saturday afternoon at Abe Martin Field. The win was SIU's second come from behind victory of the series.

A defensive miscue by the Salukis gave the Braves their only run in the top of the fourth inning. Senior infielder Matt Fritz (Northbrook, Ill./DePauw University/Glenbrook North H.S.) was hit by a pitch to start the inning and advanced to second on a bunt single by junior outfielder Brian Martin (Glen Ellyn, Ill./College of DuPage/Lombard Montini Catholic H.S.). After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Fritz scored on an error by SIU's catcher to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.

Southern Illinois used a one-out double by Chris Serritella in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at 1-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Bradley sophomore left-hander Joe Bircher (Omaha, Neb./Roncalli Catholic H.S.) retired the first two batters of the inning, but Pinnon sent the second pitch of his at-bat down the line and over the left field wall for a 2-1 Saluki lead. SIU added another two-out run in the eighth to take a 3-1 edge.

The Braves put two runners on with one out in the ninth, but Saluki reliever Lee Weld got senior first baseman Mike McMillan (Bloomington, Ill./Normal University H.S.) to ground into the game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Martin, senior catcher Kevin Sullivan (Elmhurst, Ill./Oakton J.C./York H.S.) and sophomore designated hitter Brad Kimball (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.) each had two hits for Bradley. Bircher (1-3) took the loss on the mound, allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out four in 8.0 innings of work.

The Braves and Salukis will wrap up their three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.