LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – SIUE baseball kept itself at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an 8-4 win Sunday and a three-game weekend sweep at Little Rock.
The Cougars are now 13-5 in OVC play and 20-21 overall. The 13 OVC wins matches the most for the Cougars under Head Coach Sean Lyons whose team finished with 13 wins in 2021. SIUE is tied with Southeast Missouri for the first place in the league.
Little Rock fell to 18-25 overall and 7-10 in the OVC.
The Cougars put up a pair of runs on three hits in the first against Little Rock starter Zach Busick. Mack Mitchell singled to lead off the game and then scored on a one-out Ryan Niedzwiedz double. Joshua Heyder followed with a single to score Niedzwiedz.
Little Rock catcher Cade Martin drove in two with a second-inning double to tie the score.
SIUE added on in the sixth inning. Bloomer and Niedzwiedz singled to start the inning ahead of a Heyder double. Bloomer scored to make it 3-2 and chase Busick from the game. Hunter Royal struck out next three hitters with the bases loaded, but on strike three to Lane Crowden, the ball got away from Martin behind the plate allowing Niedzwiedz to score for a 4-2 Cougar advantage.
Busick (1-2) worked five innings allowing four runs.
A Martin double in the seventh inning trimmed the SIUE lead back to 4-3, but the Cougars regained control with a four-run eighth inning.
With one out in the inning, Gage Franck and Lane Crowden hit back-to-back home runs off Little Rock reliever Malcom Brown. Daniel Gierer then singled. Brenden Katz relieved for the Trojans and Mack Mitchell greeted Katz with his team-leading 14th home run to push the Cougars' lead to 8-3.
Joseph Martin (2-0) pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen to grab the win. He gave up a hit, and didn't walk a batter. He struck out four.
The top four in SIUE's lineup, Mitchell, Bloomer, Niedzwiedz and Heyder each finished with two hits. Mitchell and Heyder paced the offense with two RBIs apiece.
SIUE will play at Saint Louis Tuesday before coming home to face Western Illinois in a weekend OVC series beginning Friday at Roy E. Lee Field.
