WESTFIELD, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana baseball stayed alive in the GLVC Tournament by holding off Missouri University of Science & Technology, 8-5, Thursday evening at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. The Screaming Eagles saw their record rise to 27-20 overall, while the Miners finish the year 25-26.
 
The Eagles go on to play the loser of top-seeded Quincy University and fourth-seeded Truman State University at 3:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday in an elimination game. The Quincy-Truman State contest is scheduled for a noon (CDT) first pitch. Live coverage can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
 
USI scored two runs in the first, second, and third innings to soar out to a 6-0 lead. Junior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell City, Indiana) gave the Eagles their initial 2-0 advantage with a two-run blast in the opening frame. The home run was Gunn's seventh of the season and tied him with junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) for the team lead.
 
Run-scoring singles in the second inning by senior catcher Austin Edge (Whitesville, Kentucky) and junior leftfielder Jaylen Quarles (Indianapolis, Indiana)  would make the score 4-0, while Edge would strike again in the third with a two-run single to give the Eagles their largest lead of the contest, 6-0. The Miners, however, were not about to go quietly, posting a five-spot in the fourth inning and cut the Eagles' margin to 6-5.
 
The score would remain 6-5 until the bottom of the eighth when Quarles singled in a run to make the score 7-5, while Kempf sealed the win with an RBI-single to give the game its final score of 8-5.
 
On the mound, USI senior right-hander Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico) threw 150 pitches over nine innings to get his team-best eighth win of the year. Chavarria (8-3) allowed five, fourth inning runs on eight hits and four walks, while striking out seven.