EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Little Rock right-hander Brannon Westmoreland won the Friday night pitcher's duel, shutting out SIUE baseball 3-0 in the opener of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Roy E. Lee Field.

With the win, the Trojans moved into a tie with the Cougars for first place in the OVC. Both teams are now 8-2 in OVC play. The Cougars are 17-16 overall. Little Rock is 20-14.

Westmoreland (4-1) tossed a season-high 7.2 innings, without allowing a run. He gave up just three hits, walked three and struck out six. He did not allow a Cougar hit over the first five innings.

SIUE right-hander Tim Teixeira (4-4) threw seven innings for the Cougars, allowing two earned runs and striking out five.

Little Rock benefited from a rare infield error in the third to score an unearned run. The Trojans then scored twice on three hits in the fourth for the 3-0 lead.

Chase Bloomer and Ryan Niedzwiedz picked up back-to-back one-out hits in the sixth to break up the no-hitter. A fielder's choice and a walk allowed the Cougars to load the bases, but they couldn't score. Mack Mitchell picked up a hit in the eighth inning, but was left on as the Cougars stranded two.

SIUE left eight runners on for the game.

Game two of the series is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Simmons Baseball Complex.