EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE and Saint Louis played slugfest Tuesday, with the Billikens defeating the Cougars 19-14 at a warm and windy Simmons Complex.
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The win for the Billikens avenges a 14-12 win by the Cougars in St. Louis in March.
SIUE dropped to 16-11. Saint Louis improved to 16-10.
Both teams had big innings in the game. SIUE scored nine in the bottom of the first inning after Saint Louis scored three in the top of the inning. It was 11-11 when the Billikens broke the deadlock with an eight-run seventh inning.
"It was a really offensive day for both teams," SIUE Head Coach Sean Lyons said. "We gave up the big inning in the seventh, and that was the difference in the ballgame. We couldn't get them off the field."
The Cougars scored 14 runs on 13 hits and hit four home runs in the game. Saint Louis had 18 hits and the Billikens also hit four home runs.
Brennan Orf homered twice and drove in five. Kyle Ratliff had two hits, including a home run and three RBIs. Avery Owusu-Asiedu homered and scored two runs. Drew Mize also had two hits for the Cougars.
"The guys have been swinging it, and we look for that to continue," Lyons said. "This is just a bump in the road."
The Cougars used six pitchers in the contest. Spencer Smith (0-1) suffered the loss. He allowed three runs in an inning of work. Zeus Ponder started for SIUE and allowed four runs on six hits through two innings. He struck out two. Jacob Kampf finished the game with two scoreless innings. He struck out five. In total, SIUE pitchers walked seven hitters and hit six batters.
"We didn't play clean baseball tonight," Lyons added. "We'll be ready to go for EIU this weekend."
The Cougars remain home and will play host to Eastern Illinois in a three-game series beginning Thursday at Simmons Complex.
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