As the conference season dwindles towards its last few series, every game continues to rise in importance for Miles, which entered this weekend's series against Edward Waters one-half game out of fourth place. But after coming out on the short end of a laugher in the opening game, the Golden Bears were able to grab two big wins to take the series and catapult into fourth place. Max Dvaneport and Trey Rutledge served as the hitting stars while Nick Copen and Camden Matthews handled things on the mound for Miles (18-17, 16-8 SIAC).

GAME 1 - Edward Waters 19, Miles 6 (8)

The Golden Bears gave one of their more lethargic efforts of the season in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. The pitchers allowed 11 walks, hit three batters and threw four wild pitches. In the field, four errors led to four unearned runs. At the plate, Miles was never able to get much going after the first inning as Edward Waters ended the game early due to the 10-run rule.

Judson McKinney (0-2) was struggling to get the ball in the strike zone early, walking three of the first four hitters. They all came around to score in a four-run first for the Tigers. But Miles got three of them back in its first plate appearance, with RBI singles from Davenport and Tyler Spruill pacing the charge. But McKinney walked the first two hitters of the second inning and he was done for the day, and reliever Brandon Honea was greeted with a mini hit parade as EWU scored five times in the second to take control.

The Tigers led 11-2 in the fourth but the Golden Bears were able to add a few more as Brandon Leroy scored on a wild pitch and Davenport - who had doubled - was plated on another RBI single from Spruill. EWU, though, put the finishing touches on this contest by sending 11 batters to the plate in an eight-run eighth. A RBI double by Kolby King in the bottom of the inning changed the final score but was unable to fix the result.

GAME 2 - Miles 4, Edward Waters 1

Miles needed a strong effort from staff ace Nick Copen and he delivered, allowing just five hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings to help the Golden Bears forge a split in Saturday's doubleheader. 

After giving up a run in the first, Copen (5-2) locked down the Tigers and gave his teammates time to get the offense in gear. The Golden Bears finally delivered in the third. A one-out walk and stolen base by Karun Jackson was big as Rutledge delivered a two-out RBI double to score Jackson and tue the game. Kaleb Priest followed with a single to left that scored Rutledge to give Miles its first lead of the day.

Copen kept dealing on the mound and Matthews provided some insurance at the plate in the fifth. Rutledge started a rally with a two-out single and ended up on third after a throwing error allowed Priest to get to second. Matthews followed with a two-run single for a 4-1 advantage, but he was not done impacting this contest. Copen got the first two outs in the seventh and looked as if he was going to get his third complete game of the season. But after allowing a hit and a walk, Matthews was summoned to close out the game and - five pitches later - he did just that to earn his fourth save of the season.

GAME 3 - Miles 9, Edward Waters 5

After playing from behind in the first two games, the Golden Bears jumped on top en route to a victory in the rubber game of the series. Davenport and Leroy had RBI in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Davenport then added a two-run double in the third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Leroy for a 5-0 advantage.

Mason Kirby (1-2), who relieved starter Trent Jones in the fourth, held down the fort for 2 1/3 innings and allowed just one earned run as Miles continued to build upon its lead. Priest drove in runs in the fifth and seventh and Rutledge scored on a wild pitch in the sixth as the Golden Bears went up 8-2. But Edward Waters mounted a comeback in the eighth, scoring three times and forcing coach Milton Barney to summons Matthews, again, to try and shut down the rally.

Matthews was up to the task, getting the final two outs in the eighth in front of an insurance run-scoring single by Rutledge in the bottom of the frame. Matthews got two strikeouts in the ninth to earn his SIAC-leading fifth save of the season.

UP NEXT - The Golden Bears will travel to Montevallo for a single nine-inning game on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.