PEORIA, Ill. - Saint Louis hurler Matt Eckelman provided three scoreless innings in his first appearance of the year as the Billikens rolled to a 4-1 victory over Bradley Tuesday night.

Eckelman, a first-team All-Conference selection a season ago, allowed just one hit in three innings of work. He struck out three and walked none.

Eckelman and the SLU bullpen consisting of Damian Rivera (2.1 innings), Luke Sommerfeld (1.2 innings), Thompson Geron (one inning) and Brett Shimanovsky (one inning) combined to limit Bradley to just three hits on the night. Shimanovsky pitched a scoreles ninth to pick up his third save of the season.

The Billikens (18-10) jumped out early in the first. Braxton Martinez ripped a single to the top of the wall, just short of a home run, allowing Colton Frabasilio to score. Then Josh Bunselmeyer hit a double down the left field line scoring Mike Vigliarolo and giving SLU an early 2-0 lead.

Saint Louis added to its lead in the second. Vigliarolo hit his 52nd career double to score Michael Bozarth. Vigliarolo later scored on a wild pitch to bring the tally to 4-0.

Bradley (19-7) got on the board in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to right, cutting the SLU lead to 4-1, but that is all the offense the Braves could muster as the Billiken pitching staff held them in check.

The Billikens host East Tennessee State for a three-game set at the Billiken Sports Center beginning Thursday. The teams play 6 p.m. games on Thursday and Friday and conclude the series with a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday.