EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball was outlasted by the University of Tennessee at Martin, 15-10, in the opening game of a three-game series Friday evening at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 15-23 and 5-8 in the OVC, while UTM goes to 14-23, 6-7 OVC.

The Screaming Eagles found themselves in a hole early as the Skyhawks scored five times in the first two innings to lead 5-0. USI would rally to cut the deficit to 5-4 with a pair runs in the third and fourth frames.

USI sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) pushed the first Eagle run across with a two-out double, while senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) drove in the second run with a two-out single in the third. The USI fourth inning runs featured RBI-singles by junior second baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) and senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan).

UTM re-extended the lead to 11-4 with five runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh. USI rallied to close the gap to one run, 11-10, for a second time in the contest by scoring once in the seventh and five times in the eighth.

The five-run eighth featured a two-run bomb by Ebest, his fifth home run of the season. Senior third baseman Nolan Cook (Evansville, Indiana) opened the scoring in the frame with a RBI-single and was followed by a RBI-ground out by Niehaus before the Ebest round tripper. The Eagles final run of the frame was a RBI-single by junior catcher Logan Mock (Livermore, California), who also had the RBI-single in the seventh.

The Skyhawks rebounded to take command with a four-run ninth and close out the 15-10 final.

Ebest led the Eagles at the plate in the loss, going three-for-five with a run scored, three RBIs, and the eighth inning home run.

On the bump, freshman right-hander Grant Parson (Owensboro, Kentucky) started and took the loss. Parson (3-2) allowed five runs in the first two innings, four earned, on six hits and two walks, while striking out six in five innings of work.

Up Next for the Eagles:

The Eagles continues the five-game homestand and the series with the Skyhawks Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest. The series is set to conclude Sunday at 1 p.m., while the homestand ends Tuesday with a 6 p.m. game versus Belmont University.