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PEORIA, Ill. – Eastern Illinois softball tied the school record for wins at the Division I level as the Panthers won an elimination game against Southern Indiana to advance to the OVC Championship game on Saturday.

EIU beat Southern Indiana 3-2 in eight innings after losing in the winners bracket earlier in the day to Southeast Missouri.

EIU improves to 40-16 overall.  USI ends its season at 25-22.  EIU faces Southeast Missouri in the OVC Championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Both teams scored on solo home runs in the fourth inning.  Kendall Grover hit her 10th of the season for the Panthers while Josie Newman connected for Southern Indiana.

In the circle Olivia Price outdueled Newman for the win.  Price improved to 12-9 on the season winning her fifth consecutive OVC Tournament game.  Newman fell to 22-10.

In the eighth EIU scored two in its half of the inning.  Sophia Olman led the inning off with a double to left center.  EIU loaded the bases with bunt singles by Marama Makea and Aryn Henke.

Rachel Kaufman drove home the first run with a sacrifice fly followed by an RBI single by Jadin Justman.

In the bottom of the eighth USI scored its run on an RBI by Newman who went 3-for-4 in the game.  Briana Gonzalez then made the biggest defensive play of the game for EIU, throwing out Lexi Fair at the plate for the second out.  Price coaxed a pop up in the infield for the final out.

Eastern Illinois dropped its winner bracket game against No. 2 seed Southeast Missouri, falling 10-1 in five innings.

SEMO scored three runs in the second before opening the game with a five-run, fourth inning.  Aubrie Shore and Kat Sackett both drove in two runs for the Redhawks in the game.

EIU's defense committed four errors in the game allowing five unearned runs in the contest.

EIU scored its run in the bottom of the fourth with Sophia Olman driving in pinch-runner Emily Konkel.

McKenzie Oslanzi (21-5) suffered the loss for EIU.  Kendall Grover had two of the Panthers five hits in the contest.

Maddie Carney (6-6) picked up the win as SEMO improved to 27-24 overall.