MACOMB, Ill. – SIUE junior first baseman Ryan Niedzwiedz hit his 36th career home run Sunday breaking the program's all-time record, but it came in a Cougar loss. SIUE fell to Western Illinois 7-1 in the finale of an Ohio Valley Conference baseball at Alfed D. Boyer Stadium.
The loss gave SIUE its first series loss. The Cougars fell to 12-4 in the OVC and 21-19 overall. SIUE is tied atop the OVC standings with Little Rock.
Western Illinois improved to 5-10 in the league and 11-26 overall.
Western Illinois got on the board in the third inning, scoring three times against SIUE starter Jase Phillips. The Leathernecks got started with an RBI hit by Liam Bushey. Then scored twice more following a two-out error in the inning.
Niedzwiedz's record-breaking blast got the Cougars on the board leading off the fourth inning to cut the lead back to 3-1. Niedzwiedz broke the record shared by Brady Bunten and Brock Weimer.
The Leathernecks pushed the lead back to three, scoring a run on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.
Phillips (3-3) allowed four runs, two earned, on four hits in five innings. He walked two to go along with a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Western Illinois extended the lead against SIUE reliver Joseph Martin in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Seven different players had a single hit in the game in which Western Illinois outhit SIUE 8-7.
Bushey finished with three hits to lead Western Illinois.
SIUE will travel to Missouri for a Tuesday evening contest which will air on the SEC Network. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
