RICHMOND, Ky. - The Golden Grizzlies held off a late comeback bid by the Colonels and defeated Eastern Kentucky, 5-4, tonight at Earle Combs Stadium to even the series.
 
Ian Cleary continued his hot weekend for the Golden Grizzlies (2-3, 0-0 HL) as he sent a pair of runners across the dish, matched by Lucas Day whose only hit on the day was a crucial two-shot home run.
 
The Colonels (1-5, 0-0 ASUN) saw Boone Shevey knock in a pair of runners, both himself, as he tallied two of the three home runs hits by Eastern Kentucky. Along with Shevey, a pair of Colonels knocked down a pair of hits while three others recorded one hit.
 
Reggie Bussey walked his way towards first to start things off as he waited out an 0-2 count. Bussey then made his way to third after Trent Rice knocked a single towards left to send Cleary to the dish to try and bring one in. Cleary answered the bell as he blasted a hard shot towards left center to send Bussey home and put Rice 90 feet away from home.
 
Brandon Nigh flew one far and long towards left field as Rice tied up for the run, as Cleary followed and scored the following at bat to jump ahead early, 3-0. The defense came up strong in the bottom half of the inning as the team put out the first three batters. The Golden Grizzlies matched its defensive effort the following two innings and didn't see a fourth at-bat in each inning to take its lead into the fourth.
 
The Colonels finally grabbed its first hit of the game in the fourth and kept it rolling as it recorded its first run of the outing but Oakland got out of the jam and left a pair of runners stranded. Oakland answered on a two-out rally as Rice sped from first to home after Cleary added another RBI to his name, along with another double, as he sent his first pitch deep to regain the three-run lead. Day put on an insurance run and hit the first deep ball of the game off the second pitch of a new Colonel pitcher.
 
The Colonels tacked on another run in the seventh as its second batter homered towards right field as a single and a walk put the tying run at the plate. The defense held strong and turned two to end the inning with just one run accounted for and remained ahead, 5-2.
 
The Colonels held Oakland scoreless for the remainder of the game as Oakland had three outs to put Eastern Kentucky away. The Colonels went out with a fight though as it knocked down back-to-back home runs with one out to make it a one-run game. However, the Golden Grizzlies held its own and struck out the last batter to take the game, 5-4.
 
Both teams totaled nine hits as Oakland knocked down a pair of doubles along with one home run. Starting pitcher Brandon Decker struck out four batters while only allowing six hits off 26 batters faced. The team totaled eight strikeouts while the Colonels struck out five. Eastern Kentucky totaled three home runs with no extra base hits.
 
The Golden Grizzlies close out its series against the Colonels tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. ET. Tomorrow's matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.