MOREHEAD, Ky. – SIUE baseball hit a combined eight home runs Saturday, but it came in a losing cause, as Morehead State swept an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader, winning both games by identical 11-9 scores.
The teams played the doubleheader Saturday in anticipation of inclement weather Sunday. The Eagles swept the three-game series from the Cougars, on their way to an 8-4 mark in OVC play and a 21-11 record overall. SIUE slipped to 9-20 overall and 5-10 in league play.
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SIUE never led in the series and the Cougars have dropped 11 in a row in the series with Morehead State.
The Cougars 18 runs came on 21 hits. SIUE hit five home runs in Saturday's early game which tied the school record for homers in a game in the Division I era.
"The guys did a good job of continuing to compete throughout the weekend," SIUE Head Coach Sean Lyons said. "We battled and we put up good at-bats all day today.
SIUE freshman Brendan Ryan, who was moved into the leadoff spot for the first time this year, led the way in game one. He was 3-5 with his first career home run, a three-run shot, in the fourth inning.
"Brendan Ryan gets inserted into the leadoff role and did a nice job," Lyons said.
Dustin Woodcock was 2-5 with a pair of home runs. Brock Weimer and Peyton Cordova-Smith added homers in game one.
Weimer, Cordova-Smith and Raul Elguezabal all homered in the second game. Cordova-Smith, Elguezabal and Eric Giltz all had two hits in the nightcap.
Weimer now has hit 30 career homeruns, which ties him with SIUE Athletics Hall of Famer Tony Duenas for second on the all-time list. Devin Caldwell is the all-time leader with 33.
Cougar starters David Llorens (2-4) and Brian Chandler (0-1) suffered the losses. Llorens allowed six runs in two innings in the opener. Chandler gave up five in just 1/3 of an inning in the late game.
Reliever Ryan Byrd worked four innings in game one. He allowed four runs, struck out one and did not walk a batter. Byrd stayed in the game even after taking a hard line drive off the chest late in his outing.
The Eagles got out a 6-0 lead in game two and then went up 8-4. Cole Milam worked a career-high four innings in relief allowing a single run, while fanning a career-best six hitters.
The Cougars were able to the lead to one at 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9.
"It was performances by Ryan Byrd in the middle innings of game one and Cole Milam in the middle innings of game two that gave our offense the opportunity to close the gap and to keep clawing and fighting," Lyons added. "Those outings are good to see and hopefully those are outings that that will propel those two as we head into the second half of the OVC season."
SIUE plays host to SEC opponent Missouri Tuesday at Simmons Complex. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
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