Box Score
 
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Four different Colonels homered as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team avoided the sweep against the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars with a 17-9 win on Sunday.
 
EKU (19-14, 5-7 OVC) fell behind early as the Cougars scored two runs in the bottom of the first. SIUE added two more runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead.
 
Alex Holderbach led off the third inning with a single for the Colonels. Two batters later, Ben Fisher knocked out his 17th home run of the season to cut into the lead and make it a 4-2 game.
 
SIUE (17-14, 6-9 OVC) answered back with a three-run bottom of the third to regain control of the contest, 7-2.
 
The fourth inning is where the Colonels took over. Ryland Kerr started the inning with a single through the left side, and Taylor Blair drew a walk in the next at-bat. Brenden Overton singled down the left field line in the next at-bat to score Kerr. A passed ball allowed Blair to advance to third while Overton made his way to second. Holderbach then singled to center field, bringing Blair home. After a Daniel McFarland walk, Nick Howie shot a sacrifice fly into right center to bring Overton home. With runners on the corners, Fisher drew a walk to load the bases. Shea Sullivan followed him at the plate and sent the ball over the wall in left center for a grand slam to put EKU in front, 9-7. The Colonels would not trail again in the game.
 
Eastern added to its lead with a two-run Holderbach homer in the fifth, a Blair solo shot home run in the sixth and a bases loaded single from Fisher in the seventh to take a 13-8 lead into the eighth inning.
 
A scoreless eighth gave way to a four-run ninth for the Colonels as a Kerr double scored Howie and Fisher, and a Blair single brought Sullivan and Kerr home. The Cougars scored one run in the bottom of the inning, but could not rally as the Colonels won, 17-9.
 
Caleb Johnson earned his first win of the season with his six and a third innings on the mound in relief. Johnson allowed one earned run while striking out six batters. Holderbach led the way on the offensive end for EKU, going 4-for-6 with three RBIs and a home run. Fisher and Kerr each picked up three hits, while Sullivan finished with four RBIs.
 
"Great job by our guys to show some grit and claw back after being down 7-2," said EKU Head Coach Edwin Thompson. "Johnson was a big part of that, settling things down on the mound and allowing our bats to get us back into the game. Holderbach's four hits all came at big moments, and Sullivan's grand slam was exactly what we needed to get everybody back in the winning mindset."
 
The Colonels come home for their next game as they host Austin Peay for a weekend series. First pitch of the series opener is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday at Earle Combs Stadium.