MURRAY, Ky. -- After a six-hour weather delay pushed first pitch to an early evening start, the Southern Illinois Salukis shook off the long wait and powered past Evansville Purple Aces, 8-4, Wednesday night at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Family Park in the opening game of the 2026 MVC Baseball Championship.

With the conference tournament using a double-elimination format, the win moved Southern Illinois forward in the winner’s bracket while Evansville dropped into an elimination game. The Salukis used timely hitting and a big middle innings surge to overcome a strong early effort from the Purple Aces.

Evansville briefly grabbed momentum in the third inning when Reid Haire launched a two-run homer down the right-field line, giving the Purple Aces a 2-1 lead after Southern Illinois scratched across a first-inning run. The Salukis answered immediately in the fourth. After a pair of free passes and a bunt single loaded the inning with pressure, Mason Schwalbach crushed a three-run homer to right field to swing the game back in SIU’s favor at 4-2. Southern Illinois kept the pressure on in the fifth, scoring three more runs behind RBI hits from Gabe Petrucelli and Tim Simay to stretch the advantage to 7-2.

Schwalbach continued his standout night in the sixth with a double before scoring on Kye Watson’s RBI single, extending the lead to six runs. Watson finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Julio Guerrero added three hits for the Salukis. Simay drove in two runs and Schwalbach finished with three RBIs and scored twice. Southern Illinois starter Andrew Evans struck out 10 over six strong innings to earn the victory, helping the Salukis withstand Evansville’s 12-hit attack.

The Purple Aces mounted one final push in the seventh inning when Reagan Reeder and Cooper Rhodes delivered RBI hits to trim the deficit to 8-4, but the SIU bullpen closed the door from there. Haire led Evansville with three hits, including the home run and two RBIs, while Rhodes collected a pair of doubles. Despite out-hitting the Salukis, 12-10, Evansville stranded 14 runners and struck out 14 times.

The Salukis will face No. 1 UIC at 1:45 p.m. CT on Thursday, while the Aces will take on No. 6 Illinois State in an elimination game at 10 a.m. CT.