MARION, Ill. – Gage Franck drove in three runs and top-seeded SIUE baseball overcame a 3-0 deficit Thursday to pick up a 4-3 win over No. 4 Little Rock, earning their first-ever trip to the OVC Championship semifinals at MTN Dew Park.
SIUE has won 11 of its last 12 games and improved to 33-22. The Cougars will meet No. 2 seed Eastern Illinois Friday at 11 a.m. for the right to advance to the championship game.
Little Rock fell to 31-26 overall and will turn around for an 8 p.m. game Thursday to avoid elimination.
Little Rock opened the scoring in the second inning thanks to five singles. Nico Baumbach singled through the middle to drive in two and Jerdy Lopez singled home another.
The Cougars tied the score with three two-out runs in the fourth. Mack Mitchell and Cooper Eggert walked and Sean Kang drove home Mitchell with a single down the line in right. Franck then tripled to the walk in left center, clearing the bases and tying the score.
Franck tripled again in the sixth to break the 3-3 tie, scoring Mitchell, who had singled to start the inning.
Stearns settled in to throw seven innings. He allowed only the three runs on eight Little Rock hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out one. Joseph Martin struck out one in a scoreless eighth inning. Easton Harris pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 12th save of the season, matching SIUE's Division I single season record.
Nic Bronzini started and worked the first four innings. Gage Haley (4-5) tossed four innings and allowed a run on three hits to take the loss.
