Box Score: Southern Indiana 9, Oakland City 4

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 23rd-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team got back on track with a 9-4 win over Oakland City University on Senior Day at the USI Baseball Field. USI raised its record to 34-12, while OCU falls to 10-23.

The Screaming Eagles were led in the win by junior third baseman Tyler Choate (Carmi, Illinois) and junior first baseman Caleb Ehmke (Waterloo, Indiana), who combined for six of the 12 USI hits. Choate was three-for-five, including a three-run blast in the sixth, while Ehmke was three-for-four with two runs scored, a RBI, and a double.

Choate's 8th home run tied him with senior pitcher/designated hitter Alex Thieroff (Greenfield, Indiana) for the team lead.

On the mound, sophomore right-hander Trevor Leach (Danville, Indiana) became the first USI pitcher to win 10 games in a season with the victory in relief. Leach (10-0) allowed one hit and struck out one in three innings of work after relieving Thieroff, who started and left with the score tied 4-4. Thieroff went the first five innings for the Eagles, allowing five hits and four runs. He also struck out six Mighty Oak batters.

USI senior right-hander Michael Dewig (Haubstadt, Indiana) finished the game for the Eagles, allowing one hit and striking out one in the ninth.

The Eagles will go on the road to finish the 2009 regular season next weekend when they play a four-game GLVC West Division series at Quincy University on May 2-3. USI needs one win in the Quincy series, to clinch the GLVC West Division outright for second straight season. Second place Rockhurst University fell to 12-8 in the division and four-games behind USI after losing three-of-four to Missouri University of Science & Technology.

USI and Rockhurst split the season series, but the Hawks hold the tiebreaker by winning the first game of the series.