EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Interstat) — A disastrous first inning for starter Jack Coon forced an early call to the bullpen, but it proved to be the spark the SIU Edwardsville Cougars needed. Reliever Gabriel Nutter steadied the game and the Cougars’ offense erupted for 15 unanswered runs, overwhelming the Saint Louis Billikens 15-5 on Wednesday at Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex.

The Billikens (15-22) sent nine men to the plate in the top of the first, scoring five runs on just one hit as Coon struggled with command. He recorded only one out, walking three and hitting a batter before being pulled. Nutter entered and allowed a two-run ground-rule double to Austin Neuweg but then halted the rally. Nutter earned the win with four innings of relief, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out three.

From there, the Cougars’ (20-17) bats took over, launching a relentless comeback against the Saint Louis pitching staff. Trailing 5-0, SIU Edwardsville broke through in the third inning. After Ryan Niedzwiedz drove in two with a double, Mack Mitchell launched a two-run homer, his 10th of the season, to cut the deficit to 5-4. Following a pitching change, Ethan Willoughby immediately welcomed Saint Louis reliever Blaker with a two-run shot to left, giving the Cougars a 6-5 lead they would not relinquish.

The floodgates opened in the fourth. After Nutter worked a clean top half, Chase Bloomer crushed a three-run homer to deep left field, extending the lead to 9-5. The Cougars put the game out of reach with a six-run fifth inning, highlighted by a three-run blast from catcher Sean Kang.

Bloomer, the Cougars’ shortstop, was the top star, going 2 for 4 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs scored. His three-run shot in the fourth provided critical separation. Kang was perfect at the plate, finishing 2 for 2 with a home run, a double, three RBIs and three runs scored. Willoughby drove in three runs with his homer, and Mitchell also had three RBIs.

The Billikens managed only three hits total, with two coming from Neuweg, who had the early two-run double. After the first inning, Saint Louis’s offense was stifled by the combination of Nutter, Brennen Grams and Nick Moten, who combined for five scoreless innings of one-hit relief.

The most important sequence of the game was the bottom of the third inning. After Nutter stopped the bleeding on the mound, the Cougars’ offense transformed a five-run deficit into a two-run lead with a six-run, four-hit outburst, featuring back-to-back multi-run homers from Mitchell and Willoughby. This rapid reversal set the tone for the remainder of the lopsided contest.

The victory improved SIU Edwardsville to 20-17 on the season, while Saint Louis fell to 15-22. The Cougars have now won two of three meetings with the Billikens this season, having split a pair of games in February and March.

Saint Louis opens a three-game home series against Davidson on Friday. SIU Edwardsville travels to face Western Illinois for a three-game series starting the same day.