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Game Score: Tiffin 5, #24 USI 3
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The No. 24 University of Southern Indiana baseball team erased a two-run deficit, but a run in the top of the eighth inning proved to be too much for the Screaming Eagles to overcome as they fell to Midwest Region foe Tiffin University, 5-3, in the first game of a three-game set Friday night at the USI Baseball Field.
After falling into a 2-0 deficit, the Screaming Eagles (4-3) capitalized on an error and a passed ball in the bottom of the fourth inning to trim their deficit to a single tally.
Tiffin (3-2), which strung together three two-out hits in the top of the first inning to score its first run, had a two-out solo home run off the bat of senior designated hitter Cory Osborne in the fourth frame to take a 2-0 lead. The Dragons capitalized on a lead-off double in the next inning to extend their lead to 3-1.
Junior outfielder
Bryce Shoulders had an RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut USI's deficit in half, while sophomore outfielder
Brent Weinzapfel scored on a wild pitch in the seventh frame to tie the contest at 3-3.
The Dragons, who had 14 hits in the game and six in the last two innings, got a two-out single from junior outfielder Ryan Locke in the top of the eighth inning to take a 4-3 advantage; then padded their advantage in the ninth inning on a one-out single by senior outfielder Jordan Chiero.
Weinzapfel, who was 2-of-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and a walk, had a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth; but the Eagles, who left 12 runners on base, could not push the run across the plate.
Senior right-hander
Silas Dill (1-2) was charged with the loss after giving up four runs off nine hits in seven innings of work.
USI and Tiffin resume the three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. at the USI Baseball Field, while the series-finale is slated for Sunday at noon. Both games can be heard on ESPN 106.7 FM.
