EDWARDSVILLE – For the second consecutive game, SIUE baseball received a dominant starting pitching performance. Saturday, Kenny Serwa punched out 14 Tennessee Tech hitters as the Cougars defeated the Golden Eagles 5-2 in the second game of a three-game series at Simmons Baseball Complex.

The win moved the Cougars to 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 7-6 overall. Tennessee Tech fell to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in the OVC. The series win is the first for SIUE over Tennessee Tech since 2015.

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Serwa fanned 14 hitters over eight innings of work, establishing a new single-game record for strikeouts in a game by a pitcher during SIUE's Division I era. He allowed just a single earned run on three Golden Eagle hits. He allowed just three hits and walked one. He improved to 4-0 this season and earned the 10th win of his SIUE career.

"Kenny was really, really good," SIUE Head coach Sean Lyons said. "He had it going on. With 14 strikeouts he limited the number of balls put in play."

Brett Pierson paced the Cougars at the plate going 3 for 3 with a solo home run, a double and two RBIs. His homer to lead off the fourth put SIUE on top 1-0.

"Brett Pierson has kind of had a tough-luck start to the year," Lyons said. "He's hit some balls hard but right at people. Today he found some gaps. He was a huge piece for us today."

SIUE added three runs in the fifth to lead 4-0. Josh Ohl drove home a run with a sacrifice fly before Brady Bunten singled to drive in a pair.

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Tennessee Tech's Cody Littlejohn took an outside pitch to left in the sixth inning for a two-run home run to cut the SIUE lead to 4-2. Brett Roberts also scored on the homer, after reaching on an error.

"He got one fastball away," Lyons added of Serwa. "The guy went with it and got it into the wind. That was the only real mistake of the day."

Pierson knocked in the Cougars' fifth of the day with a double in the seventh.

Braydon Bone worked the ninth inning, striking out two hitters, to earn his second save of the year.

Christian Herberholz allowed four runs in five innings on he mound for the Golden Eagles. He fell to 0-4 with the loss.

SIUE will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon. First pitch is 1 p.m.

"We have taken the first two steps now," Lyons said. "Guys understand the weekend is not over. We have game three tomorrow and I think they'll show up ready to play. Championships are won on Sundays in league play, whether that is winning a series, salvaging a series or getting the sweep those are big games on Sundays."

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