@Southern Indiana (14-16): 17 Oakland City (6-18): 10

The University of Southern Indiana baseball team erased a nine-run deficit with 16 unanswered runs to defeat Oakland City University, 17-10, Thursday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI raises its record to 14-16 overall, while OCU falls to 6-18 in 2003.

USI took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with OCU tying the score at 1-1 with a tally in the top of the third. The Mighty Oaks returned to the plate in the top of the fourth and exploded for nine runs to take a 10-1 lead.

The Screaming Eagles fired back with five runs in the fourth, six in the fifth, and four more in the sixth take a commanding 16-10 lead. The Eagles finished the scoring with a tally in the bottom of the eighth for the final score of 17-10.

Five USI players recorded record a multiple RBI game, led by sophomore designated hitter Toby Pritchard (Ft. Wayne, Indiana). Pritchard went three-for-four with two doubles, three runs scored, and two RBIs.

Pritchard was followed by senior second baseman Adam Schiff (Evansville, Indiana), senior third baseman Justin Konopacki (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), and senior rightfielder Steve Owen (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) with a pair of hits and three RBIs each. Sophomore first baseman Matt Keener (Evansville, Indiana) was close behind with a pair of hits and two RBIs.

On the mound, senior right-hander Dan Tomashek (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) picked up his first victory of the year with 5 2/3 innings of relief pitching. After a rough start that included back-to-back home runs, Tomashek allowed a total of five hits and three earned runs, while striking out five. The senior right-hander, who is 1-1 this spring, retired 15 of the last 19 OCU batters in the game.

Tomashek was preceded to the mound by freshman right-hander Matt Goans (Evansville, Indiana), who started and went the first three-plus innings, and freshman right-hander Dustin Jourdan (Evansville, Indiana), who pitched a third of an inning in relief.

The Eagles will resume Great Lakes Valley Conference action Saturday and Sunday, April 12-13, when they host Lewis University for a three-game series. The first pitch for Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's single game is scheduled for noon each day.