Game 1:
@Missouri-St. Louis 5 Southern Indiana: 3 (8 innings)
Game 2:
@Missouri-St. Louis (37-17 19-7): 5 Southern Indiana (22-26, 11-16): 3

The University of Southern Indiana baseball team saw its hopes for a Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament berth fall with a twin bill loss Tuesday afternoon at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The GLVC leading Rivermen won the first game 5-3 in extra innings and the nightcap by an identical 5-3 score.

The Screaming Eagles' record dropped to 22-26 overall and 11-16 in the league, while 17th-ranked UMSL raises its record to 37-17 overall and 19-7 in the GLVC.

Senior righthander Dan Tomashek (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) pitched brilliantly between the second and seventh inning, but had trouble in the first and eighth in the 5-3 game one loss. Tomashek allowed three runs on four hits in the first inning before bouncing back to allow just two hits between the second and seventh innings. Tomashek, who falls to 2-4 this year, gave up a game-ending one-out home run to senior shortstop Bryan Weiss after junior second baseman Tony Grana had reached on an error in the eighth inning.

All of USI's game one offense came in the third inning. Senior catcher Paul Kohler (Arnold, Missouri) hit his first home run of the season to get USI on the board, while senior rightfielder Steve Owen (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) tied the score with a two-run round tripper, his ninth home run of the year.

Game two saw the Eagles jump out in front 2-0 in the first inning and extended the lead to 3-1 with a tally in the fourth. The Rivermen rebounded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and extended the lead to the eventual 5-3 final score in the fifth.

USI sophomore right-hander Matt Keener (Newburgh, Indiana) suffered his first loss of the season and is 4-1 this spring. He went three-plus innings, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned). Keener was followed to the mound by senior right-hander Bowie Johnson (Brazil, Indiana) and senior left-hander Joe Stanisz (Highland, Indiana).

The Eagles will finish the 2003 regular season Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4, by hosting Northern Kentucky University. USI seniors — Brian Anderson, Andy Nucci, Justin Konopacki, Adam Schiff, Tomashek, Johnson, Stanisz, Kohler, and Owen — will be honored prior to Sunday's single game. The first pitch, both days, is scheduled for noon.