WESTFIELD, Ind. – After cutting an early six-run deficit down to one, Missouri S&T was unable to draw any closer and saw its 2015 season come to an end in an 8-5 loss Thursday to Southern Indiana at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Grand Park.

USI led 6-0 after three innings before the Miners used a five-run outburst in the fourth to get to within a run.  But after missing a chance to score again in the fifth, S&T was held in check by USI's Matt Chavarria over the final four innings as its season ended with a record of 25-26.

The Screaming Eagles scored two runs in each of the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead.  Trent Gunn hit a two-run homer in the first, then USI scored in the second on RBI singles by Austin Edge and Jaylen Quarles to knock out Miner starter Keith Coulson (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central).

Edge's two-run single extended the Eagles' lead in the third before the Miners broke loose in the fourth to get right back into the contest.

S&T got walks to Trevor Karbowski (Standish, Mich./Sterling Central) and Lance Portwood (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Santa Fe) to start the fourth, then Reed Brown (Rogers, Ark./Heritage) singled off the glove of a sliding Quarles in left to bring home the first run.  Nick Ulrich (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) followed with a hit to almost the same location to make it 6-2 before Brandon Farley (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage) walked to load the bases.

With one out, Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, Mo./Lutheran-St. Charles) hit into a fielder's choice to score a run, then Tyler Bodenstab (Independence, Mo./Truman) off the glove of first baseman Andrew Cope, allowing Ulrich to score.

Moments later, S&T executed a double steal to score Swindle to cut the Eagle lead to 6-5.

The Miners created another scoring opportunity in the fifth against Chavarria, loading the bases with two outs on a walk to Brown, a hit by Ulrich and Farley being hit by a pitch.  However, Chavarria got John Ceriotti (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS) to foul out to escape the jam.

S&T's Micah Dohlen (Kent, Wash./Kent Lake) was able to keep the Screaming Eagles (27-20) off the scoreboard through the seventh, but the Miners got only one runner on base over the next three innings before USI tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.

The Miners did get the tying run to the plate in the ninth when Bodenstab led off with a hit and Portwood singled with two outs, but Chavarria retired Brown on a check swing grounder to first to end the game.

USI outhit the Miners 13-8, as Bodenstab and Ulrich had two hits and drove in a run apiece, while Portwood also had two hits for S&T.