CHARLESTON, Ill. (Interstat) — Ryan Niedzwiedz went 4-for-6 with three home runs and four RBIs to lead SIU Edwardsville to a 16-4 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Coaches Stadium at Monier Field. The Cougars improved to 29-21 overall, while the Panthers fell to 28-17.

Niedzwiedz homered in the first, third and eighth innings. Daniel Gierer added two homers and three RBIs, going 4-for-5. Chase Bloomer had three hits, including a homer and two RBIs. Cooper Eggert homered and drove in three runs. Brenden Fry homered and had two RBIs. Mack Mitchell had two hits and an RBI. Tim Teixeira pitched seven innings, allowing no hits and three earned runs while striking out four. Brennen Grams threw two hitless innings with four strikeouts.

Eastern Illinois’ Brett Stanley drove in two runs with a double. Jack Helms took the loss, allowing eight hits and five earned runs in 4 1-3 innings. The Panthers managed four hits and two sacrifice hits. SIU Edwardsville collected 18 hits, including a two-run homer by Eggert in the fourth and a ninth-inning solo shot by Bloomer.