HALDEMAN, Ky. (Interstat) — Caden Sheridan drove in five runs and Griffin Olson collected four hits as Morehead State outlasted Southern Indiana 17-13 in an Ohio Valley Conference slugfest Sunday afternoon at Allen Field.

The Eagles improved to 21-20 overall and evened the weekend series after dropping the opener 6-5 on Saturday. The Screaming Eagles fell to 23-20.

Morehead State seized control with an eight-run first inning. Ryan Germann led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch before Sheridan cleared the bases with a double to left center, scoring Olson, Bryce Kearns and Ian McCubbin. The Eagles added three more runs on a groundout, a wild pitch and an RBI single by Olson, then McCubbin singled home another run for an 8-0 lead.

Southern Indiana answered immediately. Hunter Miller led off the second with a solo home run, his first of the season, and the Screaming Eagles tacked on an unearned run on a sacrifice bunt. Morehead State responded with two runs in the bottom half on Olson’s two-run single to make it 10-2.

The Screaming Eagles cut into the deficit in the third. Miller singled and Micajah Wall followed with a two-run homer, his fifth of the year, trimming the margin to 10-5. After a scoreless fourth, Southern Indiana erupted for five runs in the fifth. Miller delivered a two-run double, Wall added an RBI infield single and the Screaming Eagles tied the game at 10-10 on a double play that allowed Miller to score.

Morehead State reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a groundout by Andrew Griffith that scored McCubbin. The Screaming Eagles again tied the game in the sixth when pinch hitter Velders singled home McLellan, knotting the score at 11-11.

The back-and-forth continued in the bottom of the sixth. Olson singled and later scored on a balk to give Morehead State a 12-11 lead, and Sheridan followed with an RBI single to extend the advantage to 13-11. Southern Indiana tied the game once more in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Wall and a run-scoring groundout.

The decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth. With the score tied 13-13, Olson singled and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt. After a walk and another walk loaded the bases, Sheridan lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Olson and give Morehead State a 14-13 lead. Griffith walked to reload the bases, and Kean was hit by a pitch to force in another run. Krupp then singled to left center, scoring McCubbin and Griffith for a 17-13 advantage.

Southern Indiana mounted a final rally in the ninth. Miller walked, Boyle singled and Holiday singled home a run. After a fielding error loaded the bases, Martin singled to left to score two runs and cut the deficit to 17-13. But McLellan grounded into a fielder’s choice and Slack grounded out to end the game.

Hunter Miller finished 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for Southern Indiana. Wall also went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs. Eben Hansen pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout.

For Morehead State, Sheridan went 2 for 4 with five RBIs, including a double and a sacrifice fly. Olson was 4 for 5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Ian McCubbin contributed three hits and an RBI. Alex Miller earned the win with four innings of relief, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five.

The game featured 31 combined runs on 31 hits, with neither team leading by more than three runs after the second inning until the Eagles’ four-run eighth.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Morehead State 5, Southern Indiana 4, and its ELO system gave the Eagles a 52.00 percent probability to win.