After surrendering a pair of two-run leads of their own, the Illinois baseball team rallied from a 7-5 deficit in the eighth inning against Southern Illinois Tuesday afternoon to shock the Salukis 9-7 in Carbondale.

With the win, the Illini improved to a season-high 13 games over .500 and are now 27-14-1 on the season. The loss was only Southern Illinois’ third in its past 11 games and dropped its season record to 28-17.

“Our offense just kept plugging away,” said Illini head coach Itch Jones. “Our hitters have done a great job of getting the most out of every out. They’ve never given up in a game and always feel like they’re still in it if there’s an out left.”

Illinois led 2-0 after four innings and 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth before the Salukis’ offense finally got rolling. Southern scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and three more in the seventh to take their first lead of the game at 7-5.

But then Illinois started its own rally. With runners on second and third and one out, senior shortstop Toby Gardenhire singled to left to cut the score to 7-6.

Still down one in the ninth, junior catcher Chris Robinson led off the inning with a double. After senior first baseman Dusty Bensko struck out, sophomore designated hitter Mike Rohde lined a single to left to score Robinson and tie the game.

Southern had a chance to win the game in regulation in the bottom half of the inning, but Illini sophomore reliever Aaron Saving retired the Salukis in order.

In the Illini half of the tenth, Gardenhire led off with a double. He advanced to third when Saluki third baseman Chris McCulloch mishandled senior second baseman J.R. Kyes’ ground ball. Junior leftfielder Ryan Rogowski then put the Illini back on top 8-7 with a single to center to drive in Gardenhire.

After Robinson bunted Kyes and Rogowski to second and third, Bensko was intentionally walked. Rohde added another run on a groundout to second before senior centerfielder Drew Davidson flied out to end the inning.

Southern had a chance to tie the game in the tenth, but Saving (3-0) retired the Salukis in order for the second straight inning to preserve the win.

In addition to Saving’s brilliant performance, the Illini also got a great start from sophomore Jonathon Smiley, who allowed only two runs in four and two-thirds innings in his first career start.

“Smiley did a great job for us tonight in his first start,” Jones said. “I can’t say enough about the job he did. Now we know that we’ve got another solid lefthander to go along with Saving, who completely shutdown SIU in the final three innings today.”

Jason Chavez (2-3) took the loss for the Salukis.

With the win, Jones improved to 10-7 against his alma mater and former team. He hasn’t lost to the Salukis since 1999.

“It was great to come down here and see some old friends, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Callahan and this program, but once the first pitch was thrown it was just another game for us, and we’re happy to come away with a win,” Jones said.

Rogowski and Robinson each had three hits to lead the Illini, while Rohde finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

P.J. Finigan led the Salukis with three hits.

The Illini will host Northwestern this weekend in a four-game series starting Friday.