ST. LOUIS, MO. – A six-hit, six-run sixth inning helped the University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team to a 7-4 victory over visiting Southern Indiana on Friday afternoon in the first game of a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series.
The Tritons improve on their best start in program history, moving to 10-0 overall, including a program-best 5-0 in GLVC play. Southern Indiana, the 2014 NCAA DII national champion, slips to 3-8 and 0-5 in league play. The two teams continue their series tomorrow with a doubleheader set to begin at 12 p.m.
UMSL sent 10 batters to plate in that sixth inning and with one out reeled off three consecutive hits to left field, including an RBI single from senior
Shane Brinker, an RBI double from junior
Dominic Orlando and an RBI single from sophomore
Jake Beckwith for the 3-2 advantage, before Orlando scored on a double steal. Senior
JJ Kinnevan and junior
Justin Busekrus then delivered an RBI single and an RBI double, respectively, to make it 6-2.
Orlando made it back-to-back RBI doubles in his plate appearances with another one in the seventh to extend the advantage to 8-2.
Southern Indiana tagged Tritons senior
Zach Sedlacek for his first two earned runs of the season in the fourth inning as number Kyle Niemeier, the number nine hitter in the lineup, drove in two with a standup triple to right field for the game's first score.
Sedlacek improved to 3-0 on the season and overcame six walks by striking out six, while scattering six hits.
Junior
Austin Simokiatis recorded his sixth save of the season, being brought in with no outs and the bases loaded before retiring three straight.
Brinker reached base in all four of his plate appearances on two singles and two hit by pitches and scored two runs, while Orlando finished with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Kinnevan also recorded two hits for UMSL, which was out-hit by the Screaming Eagles, 12-10.
TRITON TIDBITS: The win was career victory No. 775 for 30
th-year head coach
Jim Brady… the Tritons had been just 2-9 against Southern Indiana in the previous 11 meetings over the last six years, although the two teams did not meet last season… defensively, the Tritons turned two double plays and did not commit an error.
