TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – SIUE baseball hit four home runs and erased an early 6-0 deficit Wednesday on its way to a 17-8 road win at Indiana State.
The Cougars improved to 17-15 with the win. The Sycamores fell to 16-17.
Ryan Niedzwiedz homered twice and finished with four hits and three RBIs to pace the Cougars'14-hit attack. Gage Franck added his first career grand slam and Joshua Heyder homered and drove in two.
The Sycamores scored six times in the first inning and chased SIUE starter Wyatt Doak after just two-thirds of an inning.
Doak was charged with five runs in just two-thirds of an inning.
SIUE pulled two back in the second inning thanks to a Brenden Fry double and a Jose Fichera groundout. Heyder connected on his eighth home run of the season with one on in the third inning to cut the lead back to 6-4.
ISU pushed two more across on three hits against reliever Noah Johnson in the bottom of the third, before SIUE took control.
The Cougars led for the first time thanks to five runs in the fifth inning. Chase Bloomer got things started with a sacrifice fly and Niedzwiedz followed with his 13th home run of the year. Ethan Willoughby added an RBI single and Cooper Eggert doubled to drive in another run. Fry grounded out to bring home the go ahead run. Eggert tripled in a run in the seventh to extend the lead to 10-8.
Johnson (1-3) settled in to pitch three more innings without allowing another run and just a single hit. He struck out two to earn his first career win.
In the eighth inning, Niedzwiedz hit his second home run of the night, a two-run shot, and five batters later Franck belted the career grand slam stretching SIUE's lead to 16-8.
Indiana State added an unearned run in the ninth.
Wednesday's game was the fourth two-homer game of the year for Niedzwiedz who leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 14 homers. He now has 33 career home runs, which is tied for third all-time at SIUE.
Willoughby and Eggert each had two hits for the Cougars.
Kyle Rossy and Brennen Grams each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Gabriel Nutter allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning.
The Cougars will play host to Little Rock in a three-game OVC series beginning Friday at Roy E. Lee Field.
