• Championship Central | Digital Program | Follow Us on X/Twitter | Facebook | Bracket (PDF)
The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship continues with action on Friday. This year marks the 47th OVC Baseball Tournament (the first elimination style event was held in 1979).
The event is being held May 19-23 at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. The venue opened in 2007 and was previously known as Rent One Park. It is now home to the Prospect League Team the Thrillville Thrillbillies, who began play in the summer of 2023. This year marks the fifth time the event has been held at the venue (2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026); the event will be held at the venue through 2029.
Tickets are $30 for an all-session pass, $10 per adult per day and $5 per day for children (18 and under) and college students with valid ID and can be purchased online or in-person at Mt Dew Park. All seats are general admission for the OVC Championship.
Fans can watch the entire 2026 OVC Baseball Tournament live on ESPN+.
Game 9: #2 Eastern Illinois 3, #1 SIUE 2 (10)
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery | Postgame:
EIU
Game 10: #4 Little Rock 7, #8 Southern Indiana 2
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery | Postgame:
LR,
USI
Game 11: #1 SIUE vs. Winner Game 10 - Game Moved to Saturday
#2 EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, #1 SIUE 2 (10)
MARION, Ill. - Eastern Illinois takes down top-seeded SIUE in the semifinal game at the OVC tournament. After the Friday win, EIU advances to the championship game on Saturday with the opponent to be determined.
The Panthers improve to 33-19 (18-9 OVC), while the Cougars drop to 33-23 (19-7 OVC).
EIU stunned the Cougars' crowd in the top of the 10th inning, breaking a 2-2 tie. Quade Peters sparked the rally with a leadoff single up the middle before stealing second to move into scoring position. Three pitches later, Brett Stanley placed a ground-rule double down the right field line, bringing home Peters for the go-ahead run.
Anthony Solis replaced James Geshle out of the bullpen after the Cougars had the game-tying runner 90 feet away from home. Solis earned a crucial strikeout for the second out of the inning, leading to the final groundout.
SIUE jumped in front, scoring a run in the 1st and 6th innings, while holding the Panthers scoreless. Tim Teixeira was strong on the mound for SIUE, allowing just two runs in 7.0 innings of work.
Eastern Illinois responded with two runs in the 7th inning to even the score. Mike O'conor opened the frame with a single to left field, advancing to second on Chris Worcester's groundout. Then, Zak Goodwin followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners.
Peyton Wilson put the Panthers on the board with an RBI single to left center that brought home O'Conor. Moments later, Ethan Rossi laid down a sacrifice bunt to the right side, allowing Goodwin to score.
The Cougars threatened to regain the lead in the eighth inning with two runners in scoring position, but Geshel escaped the jam with a swinging strikeout of Mack Mitchel before collecting the inning-ending double play.
On the mound for the Panthers, Tyler Conklin was stellar, allowing only two runs in 7.0 innings of work while striking out five Cougars. Geshel earned his fourth win of the season after throwing 2.1 scoreless innings. Solis picked up his second save of the year with a lights-out 10th inning.
Offensively, seven Panthers collected a hit, with Stanley going 2-5 with a game-winning RBI. Peyton Wilson and Rossi also collected an RBI.
#4 LITTLE ROCK 7, #8 SOUTHERN INDIANA 2
MARION, Ill. - Behind a dominant start from Brody Bunting and another balanced offensive performance, the Trojans rolled past Southern Indiana 7-2 Friday night in an elimination game at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Mountain Dew Park.
Little Rock improved to 33-26 overall and advanced to face No. 1 seed SIUE at 1 p.m. Saturday for the right to play Eastern Illinois later that afternoon in the championship round. If either Little Rock or SIUE defeats EIU on Saturday, a winner-take-all championship game would be played Sunday at a time to be determined. Little Rock fell 4-3 to SIUE in a winner's bracket game Wednesday night. The Cougars also took two of three games from the Trojans in Edwardsville last month.
Saturday's 1 p.m. game was originally scheduled for Friday at 4:30 p.m. However, with rain moving into the Marion area, OVC officials delayed the start of the Little Rock-Southern Indiana matchup multiple times before first pitch was finally pushed to 6:20 p.m.
The Trojans wasted little time grabbing control. Kade Smith came around to score on a wild pitch in the first inning before Blake Simpson added an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.
Southern Indiana cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third, but Little Rock answered immediately. Simpson ripped an RBI double to left field and Nico Baumbach followed with an RBI single through the right side to push the lead to 4-1. The Screaming Eagles trimmed the margin to 4-2 on a solo homer from Parker Martin in the fourth inning, but Bunting kept USI from mounting anything further.
The senior right-hander from Sherwood turned in one of the best outings of his career, allowing just one earned run across eight innings while striking out six. Bunting scattered six hits and worked around multiple traffic situations to keep the Trojans firmly in control.
Curry said Bunting earned the opportunity through his mindset and preparation over the last several weeks.
The Trojans added another insurance run in the sixth when Baumbach scored on a passed ball to extend the advantage to 5-2.
Little Rock then broke things open in the eighth. Michael O'Brien and Baumbach both scored on a clutch two-run double down the left field line from Jerdy Lopez, stretching the lead to 7-2.