PEORIA, Ill. -- Southern Illinois rallied for six runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-3 lead and the Salukis walked away with a 6-4 victory to claim the series after the game was halted in the seventh due to lightning and rain in the Peoria area Sunday morning at Laura Bradley Park.

The teams split Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's series finale was moved up to 10 a.m. due to thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon.  Sunday's game started out quickly with only one hit in the first two and a half innings, before Bradley (18-23 overall, 9-6 MVC) broke through for three runs in the bottom of the third.

Senior Alex Chandler (Needles, Calif./Needles) led off the Bradley half of the third with a walk and the Braves had runners at the corners with two outs after a Brittany Burgess (Utica, Ill./St. Bede) single and a fielder's choice.  Pinch hitter Kathryn Spenn (Williamsville, Ill./Williamsville) provided the big hit of the day for Bradley with a two-out, three-run homer to left field to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.  The home run was Spenn's team-leading fifth of the year and her second pinch hit homer of the season.

The Braves gave up three hits in the top of the fourth, but got out of the jam with a double play and BU hurler Madeline Lynch-Crumrine (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Sedro-Woolley) got out of another jam in the fifth as she took a shutout into the sixth. 

Southern Illinois (19-19 overall, 7-7 MVC) rallied for six runs in the top of the sixth, however, after opening the frame with back-to-back walks.  Kelsey Gonzalez drove in a run with a single to right and another run scored on a Bradley error on the relay home as the Salukis pulled with a run at 3-2.  Taylor Orsburn ripped a full count pitch with one out and one on over the fence in right center for her third home run of the year to put SIU in front 4-3. 

Michelle Glenn followed Orsburn's dinger with a bunt single and Merri Anne Patterson belted the second Saluki homer of the inning to left to push the SIU lead to 6-3 and knock Lynch-Crumrine out of the contest.

With thunderstorms quickly approaching, freshman Caitlyn McCarron (Dallas, Ore./Dallas) led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer to center to pull Bradley within two (6-4) and Lynch-Crumrine followed with a single.  Lynch-Crumrine was at second after a groundout and the tying run was at the plate, but SIU turned a double play to end the Bradley threat and take a 6-4 lead into the seventh.

A light drizzle started to fall as the teams began the seventh inning and Southern Illinois had a runner at first with one out in the top half of the inning when the field was cleared to lightning in the area as the Salukis took the final game of the series 6-4.

Lynch-Crumrine struck out five and walked two in 5.2 innings of work in addition to going 1-for-3 at the plate as she fell to 12-11 on the year with the setback.  Katie Bertelsen picked up the victory in the circle for SIU to improve to 10-8.  Bertelsen walked one and surrendered five hits in five innings.  Orsburn, who was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen to earn the save. 

Bradley closes out a season-long, five-game home stand Wednesday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader against I-74 rival Illinois State at Laura Bradley Park.