SIUE pitching has lifted the team to the final four.
         Matt Wilkinson, of Australia, scattered nine hits to improve his season record to 9-0. Bret Giaudrone (Gillespie) closed out the fineal three innings with six strikeouts while facing the minimum nine hitters to record his GLVC-leading 13th save.
         SIUE improved to 35-22 overall and joins sixth-seeded Northern Kentucky as the final two teams left without a loss. The Cougars play NKU at 12:15 on Saturday to determine who gets a free ride into the final two. The loser plays at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of the 9 a.m. elimination game between Indianapolis and Southern Indiana.
         SIUE rallied for three runs in the fifth inning. The Cougars picked up RBI singles from Josh DeWitte (Moline), Luke Humphrey (Rantoul) and Chad Opel (Edwardsville).
         Mark Bugger (Edwardsville), who was 0-3 on the day on his trek to become the all-time leading hitter in NCAA Division II history, recorded a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give the Cougars their fourth run. Bugger currently has 337 career hits with the all-time leader set at 341.
         -siue-