COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU baseball battled for nearly five hours Thursday night in the longest game in program history, falling 5-4 in 15 innings to Milligan University. In a marathon contest that lasted 4 hours and 50 minutes, the Rams erased a three-run deficit late, tied the game twice, and forced extra innings before Milligan pushed across the go-ahead run in the 15th.

Game One: MU 5 CIU 4: Milligan struck first with a run in the opening inning and added two more in the fourth to build a 3-0 lead. CIU struggled to break through early against strong pitching, but the Rams finally broke the game open in the eighth. After loading the bases, Quinn Jackson reached on an error to score the first run, and Daniel Sidoti followed with a two-RBI single to right to tie the game at 3-3. The two teams traded zeros through the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings as both bullpens settled in. Collin Otte provided 4.2 scoreless innings of relief with eight strikeouts, while Grayden Ross added three innings and allowed just one unearned run to keep the Rams within striking distance.

Milligan regained the lead in the 13th on a wild pitch, but CIU answered in the bottom half. After Sidoti reached on an error and moved into scoring position, Ian D'Amico delivered an RBI single up the middle to even the score at 4-4 and extend the game once again. In the 15th inning, Milligan used back-to-back doubles to plate the eventual game-winning run. The Rams were unable to respond in the bottom half despite battling throughout the night.

D'Amico finished 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Sidoti drove in two runs. CIU collected seven hits in the contest and struck out a program-record 19 Milligan batters on the mound, but ultimately came up just short in a historic, hard-fought extra-inning battle.

Up Next: The Rams close out the series against the Buffaloes tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 20th, with the doubleheader starting at 4:00 P.M. EST.