EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – For the second day in a row, SIUE baseball prevailed in a pitcher's duel. The Cougars edged Lindenwood 2-1 Saturday for the series win at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE has won four straight games and improved to 14-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 26-21 overall. Lindenwood dropped to 10-10 in the league and 25-21 overall.
Spencer Stearns (6-3) set the tone for the Cougars allowing a run on six hits over seven complete innings. He struck out five and walked two. Brennen Grams struck out one in two-thirds of an inning and Easton Harris finished his second save of the series working the final inning and a third. He picked up his league-leading 10th save of the year in the process.
Cooper Eggert's two-run home run in the third inning accounted for all of SIUE's runs. It came with one out in the inning and followed a leadoff double by Brenden Fry.
The Cougars' run came after Lindenwood grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning. Spencer Pederson led off with a triple and then scored on a groundout.
The Lions outhit the Cougars 7-5 in the game. Five different players had a single hit for SIUE. Will Geary had two hits to pace Lindenwood.
The Cougars will play for the sweep Sunday in the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Roy E. Lee Field.
