MARION, Ill. (Interstat) — The Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans rallied from a one-run deficit with a five-run seventh inning and added two more in the eighth to defeat the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 7-3 on Wednesday at Rent One Park in an Ohio Valley Conference matchup.

Southern Indiana took an early lead in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Caleb Slack singled to shallow center field. Parker Martin followed by hitting his fourth home run of the season to right field, scoring Slack and giving the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 lead. Martin finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

Arkansas-Little Rock answered in the bottom of the fourth. Kade Smith led off with a double to left center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Trey Simpson singled to center field, driving in Smith to cut the lead to 2-1. After a single by Cade Freund, Nico Baumbach singled to shallow right field, scoring Simpson and making it 2-2. The Trojans left the bases loaded when Luke Hill grounded out.

The game remained tied until the top of the seventh. Southern Indiana’s Carter Foster led off with a double down the left-field line. After a sacrifice bunt moved Foster to third, reliever Tag Andrews entered for Arkansas-Little Rock starter Brannon Westmoreland. Drew Miller singled through the right side, scoring Foster and putting the Screaming Eagles ahead 3-2.

The Trojans answered emphatically in the bottom of the seventh. Baumbach singled to right center and was replaced by pinch runner Ian Anderson. Hill was hit by a pitch, moving Anderson to second. Cooper Chaplain bunted for a single, but Anderson was thrown out at home on a throw from second baseman Caleb Slack to catcher Jackson Holiday. Hill advanced to third on the play. Chaplain then stole second, and Hill scored on a passed ball, tying the game 3-3. Joe Lopez was hit by a pitch and stole second. Smith followed with a single to center field, scoring both Chaplain and Lopez, giving Arkansas-Little Rock a 5-3 lead.

Reliever Caydon Laird entered for Southern Indiana and retired two batters to end the inning.

The Trojans added insurance in the eighth. With one out, Ryan Rhoades doubled to shallow left field. After a flyout, Hill singled to second base. Chaplain then tripled to right center, driving in Rhoades and Hill to extend the lead to 7-3.

Southern Indiana went down in order in the ninth, with reliever Tag Andrews striking out two of the three batters he faced. Andrews earned the win, pitching 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no earned runs and recording two strikeouts. Westmoreland started, allowing eight hits and three earned runs over 6 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.

Southern Indiana starter Ean DiPasquale pitched four innings, allowing two earned runs on no hits with one strikeout. Levin East took the loss, giving up three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Martin led the Screaming Eagles with his home run and two RBIs. For Arkansas-Little Rock, Chaplain drove in two runs on a 2-for-4 day. Smith also had two RBIs, finishing 2 for 4 with a double and a single. Baumbach went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Southern Indiana fell to 28-28 overall and 14-14 in conference play. The Screaming Eagles entered the contest after a 6-2 win at Morehead State on Tuesday. Arkansas-Little Rock improved to 31-25 and 16-12 in the OVC. The Trojans had lost their previous series, dropping three games to Southeast Missouri State.

The two teams split a three-game series in late March, with Arkansas-Little Rock winning the first two before Southern Indiana took the finale.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Southern Indiana 5, Arkansas-Little Rock 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Arkansas-Little Rock a 57.00 percent probability to win.