EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball scored five times in the third and three times in the fifth to win the series opener with Southeast Missouri State University, 9-6, Friday evening at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 23-26 overall and 11-11 OVC, while SEMO is 27-22, 13-9 OVC.
After spotting the Redhawks a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, Screaming Eagles followed by getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first to cut the deficit to 3-1. Senior centerfielder Khi Holiday scored on a double to center field by junior first baseman Cole Kitchens to get the USI offense going.
The score would remain 3-1 until the bottom of the third when the Eagles scored five times to take a 6-3 lead. Holiday scored USI’s second run of the game on a second RBI double by Kitchens to kick off the offensive explosion.
USI sophomore rightfielder Cameron Boyd put the Eagles in front, 4-3, with a two-run blast to deep left center. The home run was Boyd’s sixth of the season.
The Eagles would finish the five-run explosion when junior catcher Macajah Wall sent his third home run of the season over the left field wall for a 6-3 advantage. Junior leftfielder Hunter Miller scored ahead of Wall on the home run after getting on base with an infield single.
USI extended the lead to 9-3 with a three-run frame in the fifth. Junior designated hitter Charlie Marisca doubled in Miller with the Eagles’ seventh run of the game, while junior shortstop Clayton Slack highlighted the frame with a two-out double for the eighth and ninth runs.
The 9-3 lead would last until the seventh inning when SEMO scored three times to close the gap to 9-6. Holiday robbed the Redhawks of their seventh run by taking away a home run from SEMO’s Shea McGahan by skying over the right center wall to lead off the eighth.
The Eagles held the Redhawks scoreless in the final two frames to preserve the 9-6 victory. Kitchens and Boyd finished the game with a team-high three hits each, while Kitchens, Boyd, Wall, and Slack tied for the team-high with two RBIs apiece.
USI junior left-hander Jake Porter posted his fourth win of the season, tying for the team lead in 2025. Porter (4-4) allowed three unearned runs in the first inning on three hits and two walks, while striking out four. The junior left-hander also set down 11-straight hitters between the end of the first inning and the fifth inning.
USI junior right-hander Blake Kimball followed Porter and went three innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while senior right-hander Ian Anderson closed out the game by throwing a scoreless ninth to get his team-best fourth save of the year.
