PEORIA, Ill. -- It didn't seem important at the time, but senior third baseman Jason Newburger drove home what proved to be the winning run with a two-out single in the sixth inning and freshman pitcher Collin Brennan fanned eight Northern Iowa hitters in 3 1/3 innings of relief as Bradley (22-21, 11-8) held on for a 10-9 Missouri Valley Conference baseball victory Saturday night at O'Brien Field.

On a night when Bradley celebrated the 50th anniversary of the team's third-place finish in the 1956 College World Series, the Braves clinched the series win versus the Panthers by taking the first two games of the three-game set. Bradley now has won five of the first seven conference series, marking the first time in program history the Braves have won as many as five Valley sets.

Northern Iowa (22-24, 6-11) used four soft singles off Bradley starter Michael Christl to build a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning. Christl (3-3) allowed only one more hit in the next three innings, however, allowing Bradley to rally.

The Braves broke out for five runs in the third inning, then tacked on four more in the fourth for a 9-3 lead. The Panthers started to make things interesting by scoring twice in both the fifth and sixth innings to pull within 9-7. The Panthers finally chased Christl with a 2-out rally in the sixth. Mark Frieske started the rally with a single up the middle, then stole second. Curt Bradley drove home Frieske with a single to left center, then took second on the throw home. After Brennan relieved Christl, Bradley put his speed to work by scoring from second on a wild pitch to pull the Panthers within 9-7.

In the bottom of the sixth, catcher Ryan Eigsti hit a one out double to left, then after Dan Brewer lined out to right field, Newburger followed with a single into center field to plate Eigst for a 10-7 lead.

Frieske was in the middle of UNI's eighth-inning scoring summary by hitting a one-out single, advancing to second on a wild pitch and scoring on a Brandon Douglas single. The Panthers then truly made things interesting in the ninth by loading the bases with one out. Brennan caught Nate Trumm looking for his eighth strikeout, but Frieske beat out a high chopper to first pull the Panthers within a single run. Bradley followed with another high bouncer to third base, but Newburger beat Eric Hoffman to the base to end the game.

The teams will conclude the three-game weekend set with a single game Sunday at noon. Bradley's five seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony.