PADUCAH, Ky. - Behind an eight-run fifth inning, the Eastern Kentucky baseball team defeated Southeast Missouri State 14-10 this afternoon in the third day of the OVC Championships. The Colonels improve to 29-25 and will face Samford tomorrow at noon.

Matt Davis led Eastern with a 4-of-5 performance at the plate with two runs and three RBI. Junior Charlie Yarbrough added three runs and two RBI.

After the sixth-seeded Redhawks scored the game's first run in the opening inning, the Colonels went ahead by one in the third inning as a pair of runners crossed home plate. With two outs and the bases loaded, Davis singled to the pitcher to score both Yarbrough and Shawn Flora.

Eastern expolded in the fifth inning with eight runs off of eight hits and stranded no runners to take a 10-1 lead. A Davis single to center field plated Yarbrough, who opened the inning with a double, and a Joe Oliver double then sent senior Chris O'Dell home.

The Colonels added three more with a pair of singles from Lucas Waters and Kirt Kleindienst and a triple from Flora, who scored a run of his own off a balk from the SEMO pitcher.

Yarbrough ended the inning with a home run to add two more EKU runs.

The Redhawks scored a combined five runs in the sixth and seventh to cut the Colonels' lead to four but Eastern tallied one in the eighth when Tony Wells took advantage of the SEMO error to cross home plate.

SEMO totaled four runs in the eighth and ninth but the Colonels scored three of their own in the ninth to take the win.

Freshman Eric Hash spent 5.2 innings on the mound for Eastern, giving up seven hits and four runs while striking out two.