Southern Illinois Edwardsville senior infielder Chase Bloomer came up to the plate in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and nobody on base.
The game was tied 2-2, and Bloomer was able to take the first pitch for a ball.
He got a hold of the next pitch and whacked the ball to deep left center field for a homerun, giving SIUE a 3-2 lead.
EIU was able to get runners on base but were never able to tie the game, as the Panthers lost 3-2 to SIUE Friday afternoon at Frost Field at Coaches Stadium.
Head coach Jason Anderson said that this was one of the best high-stake games ever played at Frost Field, but feels his team made a few crucial mistakes down the stretch.
“They just played better baseball than us,” Anderson said. “Situational pitching today was terrible. Allowing two power hitters to get home runs with two outs and nobody on at the bottom of the order where they don’t have RBI guys. Mistakes on our part and credit to them for capitalizing on that.”
With the loss, EIU drops to second place in the Ohio Valley Conference and SIUE takes over the first-place spot alone. Both were tied for first headed into the game.
Despite the loss, graduat right-handed pitcher Tyler Conklin had a strong outing in what is most likely his last start at Frost Field.
“I don’t think it’s really set in yet.,” Conklin said. “It’s kind of sad but I’m also pretty happy with how I threw today. Just wish we would have won at the end.”
Conklin didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning, didn’t allow a walk at all and left with a no decision while striking out five batters.
“It’s hard when you’re not getting anything offensively to stay out there and get through that,” Anderson said. “He gave us a chance, and we just weren’t able to pull through.”
Once SIUE did get a hold of Conklin’s pitches, the Cougars seemed to gain momentum. They managed to get four hits off Conklin tallying a total of two runs and tying the game up at 2-2.
While SIUE (28-21, 16-6) may have taken first place in the OVC over EIU (28-16, 15-7) with the win today, the battle for first is still far from over.
This was just the first game of three between these two teams this weekend, as they are set to face off Saturday night and on Sunday.
“These boys better want it a little more than they do because I didn’t see it today,” Anderson said. “We played good and they played great, that’s probably what this series should be.”
Tomorrow’s matchup is set to start at 5 pm in Charleston at Frost Field. The two teams will also play on Sunday at 1 pm for senior day.
The race for the first-place spot in the OVC is crucial for these teams with the OVC tournament just 10 days away.
Junior right-hander Bryce Riggs will start for the Panthers against right-hander Tim Teixeira for the Cougars.
Aaron Coffin can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
