Indiana hits 3 homers, tops Illinois-Chicago 9-5 in NCAA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Matt Lloyd hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning, Cole Barr and Drew Ashley each added solo homers and Indiana avoided elimination from the NCAA Louisville Regional with a 9-5 victory over Illinois-Chicago on Saturday.

A day after striking out 18 times in an 8-7 loss to Illinois State, the second-seeded Hoosiers (37-22) rebounded with four of their eight hits for extra bases. Lloyd's blast to right field made it 7-3 before Cole Barr and Drew Ashley each homered over the next two innings.

Gabe Bierman (4-0) allowed just two hits and two walks and struck out two over 3 2/3 innings of relief for the victory. Tommy Sommer gave up one hit over the final 1 2/3 innings for his first save as Indiana ended a three-game postseason losing streak. The Hoosiers will face the Louisville-Illinois State loser on Sunday.

Scott Ota's two-run homer in the bottom of the first gave No. 3 UIC (29-23) its only lead, though the Flames tied it at 3 on Joshua Figueroa's RBI double in the third.