BOX SCORE I PLAY-BY-PLAY

RICHMOND, Ky. – Junior Jayson Langfels hit a pair of two-run home runs on Saturday afternoon to lead the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team over SIU Edwardsville, 8-7, on Senior Day at Turkey Hughes Field. With the win, the Colonels sweep the series from the Cougars and finish the regular season above .500 with a record of 27-25 (9-12 OVC).

EKU will face the No. 3 seed in the OVC Tournament on Wednesday, May 26, at 8:00 p.m. EST at Pringle Park in Jackson, Tenn.

Junior right-hander Stephen Hefler (4-5) pitched seven strong innings to earn the win, allowing five runs on 10 hits. Sophomore right-hander Matt Harris pitched another inning of scoreless middle relief before junior close Ryne Purcell came on in the ninth to earn his 11th save of the spring.

Luke Ingersoll (0-2) received the loss for SIUE, pitching one inning of relief and surrendering the lead as he allowed three runs on two hits.

Langfels led all players with four RBI on the day. Junior Ryan Faidley and sophomore Jacob Daniel both collected two hits in the game.

Ryan Wiggs paced the Cougars offensively, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

After SIUE plated a run in the top of the first, EKU tied it up in the bottom of the inning as sophomore Richie Rodriguez singled to lead off the inning, stole his way to third and then scored on an infield hit by senior Anthony Ottrando.

The Cougars took the lead again in third when Wiggs belted his first home run of the season over the wall in right field. Langfels, however, one-upped Wiggs in the bottom of the inning with a two-run blast to left that scored sophomore Daniel and handed the Colonels a 3-2 lead.

The up-and-down affair continued into the fourth as SIUE recorded five straight singles to plate three runs and go up 5-3. EKU then tied it with consecutive sacrifice flies in the bottom of the sixth, one off the bat of sophomore Dustin Dunlop and the other off the bat of sophomore Michael Garcia.

Langfels gave the Colonels the lead again in the bottom of the seventh with his second home run of the contest, this one to dead center field and, again, plating Daniel to make it 7-5. Senior Joey Stevens added an RBI double off the wall in left field later in the inning to make it 8-5.

Purcell surrendered a pinch-hit two run homer to Joel Greatting in the top of the ninth, but settled down to get out of the inning and send the Colonels into postseason play on a three game winning streak and with a record above .500.

A pair of seniors, Ottrando and Stevens, were honored before the game.