PITTSBURGH, Pa. – SIUE split a doubleheader at Pittsburgh Saturday winning the opener 6-4 before dropping the nightcap 7-6 at Charles L. Cost Field.
SIUE moved to 18-23. Pitt is 18-21. The games, which opened a three-game series, began three-hours late because of thunderstorms.
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The game one win snapped a nine-game losing streak for SIUE.
"It was nice to get in the win column," SIUE Head Coach Sean Lyons said. "Despite the funk we've been in, guys have come to yard every day with a great attitude. They played really loose, they played with confidence and we really swung the bats well. It was a good effort."
SIUE got home runs from Brock Weimer and Dustin Woodcock on its way to a game one win
Weimer hit a solo shot in the first to give SIUE a 1-0 lead. Woodcock added a two-run shot in the sixth inning to put the Cougars ahead 5-4.
Nelson Martz (5-4) tossed five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out four to earn the win.
Mike Miller, Michael Shereyk and Mason McReaken combined for four scoreless innings of relief. Shereyk faced one hitter, with two on and one out in the seventh inning. He struck out Nick Banman before turning the ball over to McReaken. McReaken pitched the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit to earn his team-leading sixth save of the year.
"We got the left-left matchup for Mike Shereyk," Lyons said. "For him to come and get a big strikeout and then hand the ball to Mason for him to finish it off. That's winning baseball. It was good to be in that spot where we could rely on the pen to get us a win and close one out and they did that."
The Cougars outhit the Panthers 12-8 in the game.
In game two, the Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to freshman Aaron Goeck's first career home run.
"We've been waiting," Lyons said. "He's got untapped power at the plate. He has really practiced well. He's swung the bat well all week. I was hoping this weekend he'd kind of get it going."
Pitt trimmed the lead to 2-1 with a run in the third inning.
The Cougars scored four times in the sixth to extend the lead to 6-1. Alec Skender capped the inning with a two-run double. Eric Giltz and Mario Tursi also picked up RBIs in the inning.
Skender finished the game 3 for 5.
The Panthers scored another in the bottom of the sixth before scoring five times in the seventh to take the lead for good at 7-6.
"It's unfortunate because we played well all day long," Lyons said. "It's tough to lose in one big inning. That's where they won game two."
Pitt centerfielder Frank Maldonado gave the Panthers the lead with a two-out, two-run homer to left.
"It was cooler, the wind was blowing in a little bit," Lyons added. "I didn't expect the ball to get out of the yard. But he put a good swing on it."
Brock Fulkerson pitched into the seventh and allowed all seven runs on 12 hits.
The teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series Sunday beginning at 12 p.m. CT.
