MURRAY, Ky. -- SIU baseball is headed to the MVC Tournament championship game after an unforgettable Saturday at Johnny Reagan Field. Facing elimination twice, the Salukis knocked off both the No. 2 seed and No. 3 seed to keep their postseason hopes alive and advance to Sunday’s title game against top-seeded Belmont at 1:00 p.m. CT.

Against Indiana State in the opener, SIU rallied late for a dramatic 7-5 victory. The Salukis trailed 2-0 entering the eighth inning before finally breaking through. Jaden Flores tied the game with an RBI single in the eighth, and the offense exploded for five runs in the ninth. Tim Simay delivered the go-ahead RBI single before Kaleb Hall crushed a grand slam to center field to give SIU breathing room. Michael Mylott finished with three hits and scored twice, while Simay added two hits and two RBIs as the Salukis erased the deficit with seven runs over the final two innings. Dawson Hargrove gave SIU six strong innings on the mound, allowing just two runs while striking out one.

The momentum carried into the nightcap against No. 3 seed Murray State, where the Salukis survived another thriller for a 9-7 win. SIU built an early 6-0 lead before the Racers erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning to take control. The Salukis answered immediately, tying the game in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Julio Guerrero before adding the eventual winning run later in the inning.

Meade Johnson delivered one of the biggest pitching performances of SIU’s season to close it out. Entering in the seventh inning with the Salukis trailing, Johnson slammed the door over the final three innings without allowing a hit. He struck out five and worked around three walks to earn his fifth save of the season, preserving SIU’s championship hopes. Gavan Wernsing also turned in a strong start with 5.1 innings of two-run baseball before the Murray State rally.

Offensively, Tim Simay led the way in game two with two hits and two RBIs, while Kristian Sprawling scored three times and swiped two bases. Julio Guerrero collected two hits and drove in the game-tying run in the ninth, while Mason Schwalbach added two RBIs.

With two elimination-game wins over top-three seeds in one day, the Salukis now move on to Sunday’s MVC Tournament championship game at Johnny Reagan Field with their season still alive.