CARBONDALE, Ill. – Nathan Bandy's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning gave SIU Carbondale an 8-7 walk-off win over SIUE Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium.

SIUE dropped to 18-29-1. The Cougars have lost five in a row. The Salukis are 27-22.

Trey Cutchen doubled to start the ninth off SIUE's Alex Rodriguez. Cutchen moved to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on the SAC fly.

Alex Rodriguez (3-3) allowed the run in the ninth and suffered the loss.

Trailing 7-5 going into the ninth, the Cougars plated a pair of two-out runs to tie the score. John Stallcup and Mack Mitchell singled to start the inning, and both scored on a two-out hit by Ryan Niedzwiedz, who was thrown out trying to make second base.

"We put up a good effort in the end and got the big hit from Niedzwiedz," SIUE Head Coach Sean Lyons said.

It was Niedzwiedz who put the Cougars on top in the first with his team-leading eighth home run of the year for a 1-0 SIUE lead.

A bases loaded walk and a throwing error helped SIU Carbondale score four times in the bottom of the inning. Single runs in the second and fourth innings gave the Salukis a 6-1 advantage.

"We were very sloppy defensively to start the game and it bit us," Lyons said. We didn't play good enough defense, but we also were sluggish offensively at the start."

The Cougars put runners on with a walk and a hit in the sixth inning before Ethan Willoughby drove home a run with an infield hit to cut the lead to 6-2.

The Salukis then loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth on two singles and a hit batter. A bases loaded walk brought home another run to push the SIUC lead back to five runs.

SIUE trimmed the lead back to 7-5 with three runs in the seventh inning. After loading the bases without a hit, Daniel Gierer scored on a wild pitch.  Zack Floyd scored on a single by Lucas Spence and Mack Mitchell scored on a groundout by Drew Mize.

Niedzwiedz and Mitchell each had a pair of hits for the Cougars. Niedzwiedz finished with three RBIs.

Joseph Martin stuck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, allowing SIUE the chance to get back in the game.

"Joe Martin was outstanding for us," Lyons said. "He was a real bright spot out of the bullpen."

The Cougars return to Roy E. Lee Field for their final home series of the year against Tennessee Tech.

"It was good to see the fight tonight, but now we have to focus on playing a cleaner game going into the weekend," Lyons said.