EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Maryville University baseball defeated the University of Southern Indiana 14-9 on Wednesday evening to end a recent four-game skid.

Southern Indiana Recap
Elias Stevens sent the Saints off to an early 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run home run to in the top of the first inning. USI responded with a run in the bottom half and four more in the second. 

Down 5-2 in the top of the third, Dominic Connolly started a rally with a single to left-center and got into scoring position with a stolen base. Stevens followed two batters later with another two-out RBI and a stolen base of his own. Michael Gould singled to cut the lead to 5-4 and Ben Hopkins collected the third consecutive hit to tie the game at five. 

The Saints rode the offensive momentum into the next three innings. Joey Polak drove in two runs in the fourth with a double and Alex Hoff drilled a two-run home run to left field as part of a three-run fifth. 

Now down 10-5, the Eagles responded with four in the fifth to cut the lead to one. Maryville's offense pushed another run home in the seventh and picked up three in the eighth for some insurance.

Noah Arras and Ben Prywitch slammed the door shut out of the bullpen, combining for three scoreless innings and four strikeouts to seal up the 14-9 victory.

Winning Pitcher: Drake Downing (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Blake Ciuffetelli (1-2)

Hitting Leaders:
Elias Stevens: 4-6, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, SB
Alex Hoff: 2-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB
Ben Hopkins: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 R

Records:
Maryville: 9-9
Southern Indiana: 10-8

What's Next?
The Saints begin conference play with a four-game series in Kansas City, Missouri against Rockhurst University beginning on Friday, March 25. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.