Ohio Valley Conference

MARION, Ill. - Eastern Illinois moves past SEMO to advance to the next round on Friday in the OVC tournament. EIU improves to 32-19 (18-9 OVC), while the RedHawks fall to 39-17 (18-9 OVC). Bryce Riggs and Mike O'Conor led the Panthers to their fourth straight win over Southeast Missouri.  

SEMO opened the scoring in the top of the third inning on a two-out RBI single from Dakota Joggerst. However, EIU answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run frame that proved to be the difference.  

Ethan Rossi sparked the inning with a leadoff single to short before Quade Peters executed the small ball perfectly, laying down a bunt to the pitcher, Andrew Carroll, to move Rossi into scoring position. Tyler Castro then tied the game with an RBI single into right-center field, collecting his 26th RBI of the season. 

Following a mound visit, Brett Stanley drew a walk and later moved into scoring position on a groundout by James Love. 

OVC First Team selection Mike O'Conor broke the tie with the eventual game-winning hit, ripping a two-run double into right-center field to score Castro and Stanley. 

SEMO threatened in the 7th inning with a leadoff home run by Andrew Ramirez, but Anthony Solis was called upon out of the bullpen and held on to the one-run victory.  
 
Both pitching staffs held strong, but Riggs and Solis came out on top for the Panthers.  

Riggs allowed the early run but was dominant in the last three innings of his outing to earn his 8th win of the season. In 6.0 innings of work, he allowed only two earned runs on four hits and threw 113 pitches.  

Solis was stellar out of the bullpen, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings, earning his first save of the season.  

For the RedHawks, Carroll threw the most pitches of his D1 career at 113. With the loss, Carroll moves to 7-4 after allowing three earned runs on five hits.  

The Panthers totaled five hits offensively, with O'Conor leading the way with two. Chris Worcester, Rossi, and Castro each added a hit for the Panthers. 

EIU also drew four walks in the contest, with Zak Goodwin, Peyton Wilson, Stanley, and Castro each recording one.

#1 SIUE 4, #4 LITTLE ROCK 3
MARION, Ill. - Gage Franck drove in three runs and top-seeded SIUE baseball overcame a 3-0 deficit Thursday to pick up a 4-3 win over No. 4 Little Rock, earning their first-ever trip to the OVC Championship semifinals at MTN Dew Park.

SIUE has won 11 of its last 12 games and improved to 33-22. The Cougars will meet No. 2 seed Eastern Illinois Friday at 11 a.m. for the right to advance to the championship game.

Little Rock fell to 31-26 overall and will turn around for an 8 p.m. game Thursday to avoid elimination.

Little Rock opened the scoring in the second inning thanks to five singles. Nico Baumbach singled through the middle to drive in two and Jerdy Lopez singled home another.

The Cougars tied the score with three two-out runs in the fourth. Mack Mitchell and Cooper Eggert walked and Sean Kang drove home Mitchell with a single down the line in right. Franck then tripled to the walk in left center, clearing the bases and tying the score.

Franck tripled again in the sixth to break the 3-3 tie, scoring Mitchell, who had singled to start the inning.

Stearns settled in to throw seven innings. He allowed only the three runs on eight Little Rock hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out one. Joseph Martin struck out one in a scoreless eighth inning. Easton Harris pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 12th save of the season, matching SIUE's Division I single season record.

Nic Bronzini started and worked the first four innings. Gage Haley (4-5) tossed four innings and allowed a run on three hits to take the loss.

#8 SOUTHERN INDIANA 5, #3 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
MARION, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana junior second/third baseman Parker Martin drove in a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 5-3 victory over Southeast Missouri State on the third day of the Ohio Valley Baseball Championship at Mt. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. USI, the eighth seed, is 29-28, while SEMO, the third seed, is 39-17.
 
USI grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame when graduate centerfielder Khi Holiday scored on a sac fly by senior first baseman Patrick McLellan. Holiday singled with one out and moved to third on the hit after a fielding error by the SEMO rightfielder.

The Screaming Eagles would hang onto the 1-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth when the Redhawks scored three times for a 3-1 advantage. USI had dodged bases-loaded jams in the bottom of the third and fourth before SEMO scored in the fifth.
 
The score would remain 3-1 until the top of the eighth when Martin doubled in a pair of runs to tie the game 3-3. USI would be retired in the top of the eighth after Martin was stranded after reaching third with less than two outs.
 
Martin would strike again in the top of the ninth, driving in two runs with two out with a single to right center to score junior pinch runner Dane DeWees and Holiday with the eventual winning runs.
 
On the mound, senior right-hander Andres Gonzalez picked up the win in relief. Gonzalez (2-1) blanked the Redhawks for three innings, allowing three hits and striking out two.
 
USI graduate right-hander Nate Anderson started and got a no-decision, exiting after 3.2 innings. Anderson held SEMO scoreless on four hits and walked three.
 
#4 LITTLE ROCK 4, #6 LINDENWOOD 3
MARION, Ill. -  Facing elimination and needing a response, Little Rock once again leaned on its resilience Thursday night at Mountain Dew Park.

Brigden Parker delivered one of his best outings of the season, while the Trojans used timely hitting and late composure to hold off Lindenwood for a 4-3 victory in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Little Rock advanced to Friday afternoon's elimination game with Southern Indiana and improved to 32-26 overall.

The Trojans and Screaming Eagles are scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Friday after weather forced league officials to move up the start time from 3 p.m. The winner of that game will play the loser of Friday's winner's bracket semifinal at 4:30 p.m.

Little Rock beat USI, the No. 8 seed, 7-3 on Wednesday night in its tournament opener. The Screaming Eagles then dropped into the elimination bracket and upset No. 3 seed Southeast Missouri on Thursday. Friday's matchup will mark the fourth game of the tournament for USI, the league program located closest to Marion, just over an hour away.

Parker did his part Thursday night to prolong the season. The senior left-hander carried a shutout into the seventh inning and finished with a season-high eight strikeouts while allowing just three runs on five hits.

Little Rock struck first in the opening inning when Nolan Freund ripped an RBI double to right-center field to score Angel Cano and give the Trojans an early 1-0 lead. The Trojans then created separation in the fourth inning.

After loading the bases, Little Rock pushed across a run on a Lindenwood error before Freund delivered again with an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-0. The Trojans added another insurance run in the fifth inning to extend the advantage to 4-0.

Parker cruised through six scoreless innings before Lindenwood made its push in the seventh. A hit batter and walk set up a three-run homer by Sam Driscoll that suddenly cut the lead to one.

Despite the momentum swing, Curry said the Trojans never panicked.