MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday to defeat SIUE 4-3 and complete the three-game sweep to finish the Ohio Valley Conference regular season for both teams.
SIUE finished the regular season with a 12-15 record in OVC play and 20-33-1 mark overall. Morehead State improved to 17-10 in the league and 33-22 overall.
"I am disappointed in the outcomes this weekend," SIUE Head Coach Sean Lyons said. "We pitched much better today."
The Cougars will open play in the OVC Tournament Wednesday. SIUE's seed and first opponent will depend on the outcomes of the remaining games around the league.
"We need to hit the reset button and get mentally ready for the OVC Tournament," Lyons said.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Riley Preece was walked on a close pitch to force in the tying run. Roman Kuntz was then hit by a pitch, forcing home the winning tally.
Liam McKillop (1-3) started the inning, allowing both runs to take the loss. McKillop worked two full innings. He struck out one.
SIUE trailed 2-1 in the eighth before Ryan Niedzwiedz's team leading 11th home run of the season put the Cougars on top 3-2. Drew Mize scored after waking to start the inning.
The Eagles got out on top in the fourth, pushing across two runs on a pair of hits against SIUE starter Kyle Athmer. Athmer pitched four innings he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out three.
"Kyle Athmer threw well," Lyons added. "He commanded the zone."
John Stallcup led off the seventh inning with his sixth home run of the year to trim the lead back to 2-1.
Joseph Martin worked three scoreless innings in relief and struck out four. Lucas Spence worked two-thirds of an inning facing five batters in two different stints in the game. Spence worked in the eighth and then again in the ninth.
"Joe Martin continues to show his growth on the mound," Lyons said. "We had had the right guys out of the pen in the right spots, but we couldn't finish it off."
Niedzwiedz and Floyd each finished with two hits.
