PEORIA, Ill. - Southern Illinois (5-21, 1-5 MVC) used three unearned runs in the eighth inning to salvage the final game of its weekend series at Bradley (19-6, 2-1 MVC), rallying for a 5-3 win Sunday afternoon at Dozer Park.

Leading 3-2, Bradley had a chance to escape the eighth inning with no damage after the Salukis put runners on first and second with one out on a walk and hit by pitch from Braves reliever Stephen Toma (0-2). With the two runners in motion, Parker Osborne hit a line drive at Chris Godinez, but the Bradley second baseman was unable to come up with the catch to start a likely inning-ending double play.

With the bases loaded, Bradley turned to closer Matt Dennis to try and escape the jam, but Dyllin Mucha tied the game, 3-3, with a sharp single to right field and Chase Slone beat out a potential inning-ending double play ground ball to short to push home the go-ahead run. Osborne plated the final run, scoring from third on a wild pitch.

Bradley had chances to get right back into the game, getting leadoff walks in both the eighth and ninth innings, as well as a one-out hit-by-pitch in the eighth, but the Braves couldn't push the runs home, keeping with the theme of the day. Including 12 by Bradley, the teams combined to leave 23 runners on base.

Bradley starter Brent Stong overcame a rough first inning and allowed only one run on five hits in 6.0 innings. Stong left the game in the sixth after throwing three straight balls to the first hitter he faced. Toma entered the game with a 3-0 count against Osborne and eventually surrendered one of SIU's six doubles. Slone drove Osborne home with a 1-out single, pulling the Salukis to within, 3-2.

Bradley built a 3-1 lead by scoring single runs in the first, fifth and sixth innings against Salukis starter Kyle Pruemer. The Braves had a chance to break the game open in the seventh after drawing three consecutive 2-out walks from SIU reliever Ryan Netemeyer. Jacob Williams (1-0) took over on the mound with the bases loaded, however, and fanned Saturday hitting star Evan Gruener to end the threat.

The loss was Bradley's first in 20 games this season when leading after six innings and snapped Bradley's four-game winning streak. The Braves will try to start a new streak Tuesday when they host Saint Louis in a 6 p.m. non-conference clash at Dozer Park. Admission will be free for the mid-week game against the Billikens.