EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On a chilly Friday night in Evansville, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies used 13 combined strikeouts from sophomore
Hunter Pidek and junior
Brandon Decker and a three-run seventh to defeat the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, 4-2, in the first of three on March 10.
Paired with their victory over the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, the Golden Grizzlies have now won back-to-back games and improve to 4-8, while Southern Indiana drops to 5-8.
Throwing 76 pitches in what was his second start of the season and working five innings for the first time in his career, Pidek allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and struck out a career-high seven.
Making his fifth appearance in the last six games, Decker handled the final four frames, giving up just a lone hit while walking two and striking out six.
With Oakland moving ahead for good with their three-run seventh inning, Decker picked up his second win of the season, making him the first Golden Grizzly with multiple victories in 2023.
Redshirt senior shortstop
Thomas Green started the scoring in the top of the first by plating graduate student second baseman
Jared Miller with a single.
Hitting safely for the sixth time in the last seven contests, this single was Green's eighth RBI of the year, tying him with Miller for the team lead.
After a pair of solo home runs in the first and fourth gave the Screaming Eagles a 2-1 lead, sophomore
Peter Jelenic tied the game back up with a pinch-hit single in the seventh, scoring redshirt sophomore left fielder and fellow native Buckeye
Drew Collins.
Oakland's two other seventh-inning runs both came on wild pitches, with Jelenic and graduate student first baseman
Gabe Lux scoring the runs.
As a couple of noteworthy statistics to come out of Friday's action, redshirt sophomore right fielder
Reagan Paulina recorded his first hit of the season with a two-out, two-strike single in the ninth and Collins, Green and Jelenic all stole a base.
For Collins and Jelenic, this was their second stolen base of the season, tying them with senior
Ian Cleary and sophomores
John Lauinger and
Brandon Nigh for the most on the team.
GRIZZVISION WITH HEAD COACH JORDON BANFIELD
UP NEXT
The middle game of this weekend series, the Golden Grizzlies and Southern Indiana will square off again on Saturday, March 11 at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Senior right-hander
Noah Stants (0-0, 7.94 ERA, 5.2 IP) will start for Oakland, while junior and fellow righty Caleb Meeks (1-1, 7.84 ERA, 10.1 IP) will go for the Screaming Eagles.
