Box Score I Play-by-Play

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team pounded out eight extra-base hits, including five home runs, as the Colonels finished off the weekend sweep of visiting SIUE by outscoring the Cougars, 15-11, on Sunday afternoon in the finale of this weekend’s Ohio Valley Conference series at Turkey Hughes Field.

It is EKU’s fifth straight win, and it improves the Colonels’ record to 12-15 (4-2 OVC). The loss drops SIUE to 13-14 (2-4 OVC).

EKU trailed 7-5 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Colonels scored seven decisive runs in that frame, all with two outs, to take a lead they would not relinquish.

With runners on the corners, sophomore Sean Hagen started the two-out rally by poking an 0-2 pitch through the right side of the infield to plate senior #A.J. Jamison and move senior Dustin Dunlop# to third. The next batter, senior Richie Rodriguez, walked to load the bases for junior Austin Grisham, who crushed a bases-clearing double to right field, making the score 9-7.

The scoring continued when senior Jacob Daniel laced a base hit down the right field line, plating Grisham. After sophomore Bryan Soloman was hit by a pitch, junior Alex Hughes and senior Michael Garcia delivered back-to-back RBI base hits, suddenly giving the Colonels a comfortable 12-7 lead. The Cougars would get no closer than four runs the rest of the way.

Jamison and Garcia led the Colonels with three hits apiece in the win, while Grisham and Daniel drove in a team-high four runs each.

Devin Caldwell paced SIUE offensively as he batted 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.

Junior right-hander Anthony Bazzani started on the hill for EKU and tossed four serviceable innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a pair of batters. Senior Matt Fyffe (4-0), however, earned the win as he pitched 1.2 innings and was the pitcher of record in the sixth inning when the Colonels rallied to take the lead.

Right-hander Thad Hawkins (1-1) got the loss for SIUE as he worked 5.2 innings and surrendered eight runs on 10 hits while fanning four batters.

After SIUE took an early 2-0 lead, EKU used the long ball to get back in the game as Soloman led off the bottom of the second with a solo home run, and Jamison followed that up with a two-run blast that made the score 3-2. In the bottom of the second, the Colonels added to that lead with back-to-back solo bombs by Rodriguez and Grisham.

SIUE rallied to tie it with three runs in the top of the fifth and then took the lead on a two-run home run by Caldwell in the top of the sixth, but EKU responded with its seven-run home half of the sixth to secure the win.

A three-run home run to left center by Daniel in the bottom of the seventh only padded the Colonels’ lead.

EKU returns to action this weekend as the Colonels go on the road for a three-game series at OVC foe Southeast Missouri. The series will be played Thursday-Saturday due to Easter.