EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana junior second/third baseman
Parker Martin drove in a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 5-3 victory over Southeast Missouri State on the third day of the Ohio Valley Baseball Championship at Mt. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. USI, the eighth seed, is 29-28, while SEMO, the third seed, is 39-17.
USI grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame when graduate centerfielder
Khi Holiday scored on a sac fly by senior first baseman
Patrick McLellan. Holiday singled with one out and moved to third on the hit after a fielding error by the SEMO rightfielder.
The Screaming Eagles would hang onto the 1-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth when the Redhawks scored three times for a 3-1 advantage. USI had dodged bases-loaded jams in the bottom of the third and fourth before SEMO scored in the fifth.
The score would remain 3-1 until the top of the eighth when Martin doubled in a pair of runs to tie the game 3-3. USI would be retired in the top of the eighth after Martin was stranded after reaching third with less than two outs.
Martin would strike again in the top of the ninth, driving in two runs with two out with a single to right center to score junior pinch runner
Dane DeWees and Holiday with the eventual winning runs.
On the mound, senior right-hander
Andres Gonzalez picked up the win in relief. Gonzalez (2-1) blanked the Redhawks for three innings, allowing three hits and striking out two.
USI graduate right-hander
Nate Anderson started and got a no-decision, exiting after 3.2 innings. Anderson held SEMO scoreless on four hits and walked three.
Up Next for the Screaming Eagles:
USI advances the OVC Baseball Championship in the elimination bracket and will play the winner of #6 Lindenwood/#4 Little Rock in game 10 of the tournament at Mt. Dew Park. A new start time for the expected rain Friday is now
1 p.m.
Little Rock, which enters tonight's game with a 31-16 record, knocked USI into the elimination bracket with a 7-3 victory Wednesday night. The Trojans lead the all-time series with USI, 10-4.
Lindenwood, which is 30-27, won its tournament opener over UT Martin, 7-4, and lost to SEMO, 3-1, Wednesday. The Lions lead the all-time series with USI, 10-7, but the Screaming Eagles took two of three from Lindenwood in the regular season.
Fans are encouraged to watch social media and
USIScreamingEagles.com for any schedule changes due to weather. Links to follow the Screaming Eagles during 2026 can be found on
USIScreamingEagles.com and the
USI Baseball Schedule.
