May 17, 2011

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Ryan Daniels tossed seven shutout innings Tuesday night to lead SIUE to a 4-1 win over Evansville in college baseball at Simmons Baseball Complex.

The win is the fifth consecutive for SIUE. It is the third time this season the team has had a winning streak of five or more games. The Cougars, at 25-24, are over .500 for the first time since the 2008 season-their final season in NCAA Division II.

Daniels, 1-4, cruised through his best start of the year, allowing a single hit in seven innings of work. The freshman right-hander struck out three to earn his first win in a Cougar uniform. Dustin Quattrocchi allowed a run on one hit over the final two innings. He also struck out three.

"Daniels and Quattrochi were both outstanding," SIUE Head Coach Gary Collins said. "We would like to have one like that every game."

SIUE built a 4-0 lead Tuesday and never trailed. For the fourth time in its last five games SIUE scored in the first inning.

The Cougars got a leadoff triple from James Vazquez. Travis Becherer followed with an RBI single on a 3-2 pitch from Evansville starter Ryan Billo. Becher stole second then scored on a two-out hit by Zach Hawkins. Devin Caldwell made it 3-0 in the third inning when he connected for his team-leading sixth home run of the year.

"We got some keys hits and moved some runners around," Collins added. "You have to give Becherer some credit for a couple stolen bases to get himself into scoring position."

Becherer was 3 for 4 with an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases. Caldwell was 2 for 4 with the home run. He leads the team with 52 RBIs. Hawkins was 3 for 4 with the RBI.

Billo, 3-1, allowed three runs over four innings in the loss for Evansville.

Chase Green led off the seventh inning with a double, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Swinnen, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Vazquez to make it 4-0.

Evansville, 28-20, scored its only run of the night in the eighth inning. Ty Legan led off the inning with a double and then advanced to third on wild pitch. Legan scored on a ground out by Shawn Kuester. Legan was 1 for 3.

The win moved Collins to 998 wins in his SIUE career. The Cougars will play an exhibition game Wednesday against the Frontier League's Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget, Ill. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

SIUE wraps up the season with a three-game series Friday and Saturday against Eastern Kentucky, of the OVC. The Cougars are 12-4 against OVC opponents this year. First pitch Friday is 4 p.m.