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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. –
Matt Wivinis was sharp on the mound and Eastern Illinois provided timely hitting as the Panthers evened their weekend series with SIU Edwardsville beating the Cougars 6-3 on Friday night.
EIU improved to 13-35, 9-20 in the OVC. SIUE fell to 19-28, 18-11 in the OVC. The schools will wrap up the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. in what will be the final collegiate game for the Panthers eight seniors.
Wivinis (3-8) pitched 7.2 innings allowing seven hits while striking out eight batters. He allowed three runs before
Chase Thurston closed the game to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Alec Saikal gave the Cougars a lead with an RBI in the first. Wivinis did not allow another run until the bottom of the seventh when Saikal had a two-run homer to finish the day 2-for-4 at the plate.
EIU tied the game in the fourth on a
Demetre Taylor home run. Taylor came back with another home run in the eighth as he finished the day 3-for-4.
"Lots of clutch hits in tonight's win," said EIU head coach
Jim Schmitz. "Demetre came up big for us.Â
Matt Wivinis was impressive again. I'm proud of how these guys keep coming to the park and playing hard."
Joseph Duncan gave EIU a 2-1 lead in the fifth with an RBI single. The Panthers had three runs in the seventh with
Adam Casson driving in a run with a sacrifice fly.Â
Hunter Morris and
Dane Sauer had RBI singles.
Jarrett Bednar (2-6) suffered the loss for the Cougars. Â
