CHARLESTON, Ill. (Interstat) — Spencer Stearns pitched six shutout innings and Chase Bloomer homered and drove in three runs as SIU Edwardsville defeated Eastern Illinois 3-2 on Friday evening at Coaches Stadium at Monier Field.

Stearns allowed no hits and one unearned run while striking out three in six innings. Bloomer singled in a run in the sixth and homered in the eighth. Mack Mitchell also homered for the Cougars in the seventh.

Eastern Illinois took a 1-0 lead in the second on Quade Peters’ sacrifice fly. Mike O’Conor homered in the fourth to make it 2-0. SIUE answered in the sixth when Bloomer singled home Cooper Eggert. Mitchell’s solo shot tied it, and Bloomer’s homer in the eighth proved decisive.

Tyler Conklin struck out five over seven innings for the Panthers, allowing four hits and two earned runs. Eastern Illinois fell to 28-16, while SIUE improved to 28-21.