In each of the last two days, EIU has not only beaten the only two OVC teams (Tennessee Tech and Samford) that it was swept by this year, but also won those games against the opposition's starting pitcher that earned Pitcher of the Week honors for their performances during the sweeps. The Panthers hung the loss on Michael Alcorn Wednesday. Michael Jarry was unable to duplicate his complete-game, three-hit performance on this day.

 

“I thought we did a good job against Jarry,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “I was very pleased with [our approach]. He and Alcorn really shut us down during the season. We just said 'get the ball up in the zone,' and he did and we hit some well. A couple runs put us in a chance to win. And they had the pressure on them and had the boo-boo with the wild pitch.”

Jordan Kreke scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the ninth. He reached on an error to begin the four-run rally. After an intentional walk to Brett Nommensen, Jordan Tokarz busted the game open with a three-run double to left.

Richie Derbak also delivered a key two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning.

Tristan Facer homered in his first at-bat and also drew two free passes. He scored from first on Derbak's double.

 

“The neat part is that we knew with all the new players it would be a process,” Schmitz said. “At first, we didn't know how to win (starting the year 0-7). And then we didn't know how to win the big game. But then we started [winning some big ones] a little bit at the end of the year. We just tell them 'have a little faith and believe in what we're doing here.' We feel good about the lineup now. It's a little bit more offensive, even though we haven't scored tons of runs. Confidence is the key in this sport and right now we really have it.”

Panther pitchers walked eight but struck out the final batter of an inning six times. All six Ks came with at least one runner on base.

 

Scott Foley (3-2) earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Starter Tyler Kehrer worked five-plus, surrendering two earned runs while striking out four. Tyler Brandon hit the first batter he faced to force in a run in the sixth, but got the next batter to ground into a 6-4-3 double play with the bases loaded.

 

Eastern also benefited from a trio of Samford baserunners getting cut down trying to advance without the ball being put into play.

 

The Panthers ended the third inning with a strikeout-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play. Kehrer fanned Marcus Rodriguez and Derbak cut down Michael Rutledge at third base. In the sixth, Wayne Miller was thrown out a home plate trying to score on a wild pitch by Brandon. It was an extremely bang-bang play. An inning later, Michael Marseco hesitated before trying to take third on a pitch in the dirt. Rutledge forced his teammate to try and advance by taking second behind him, but Marseco was thrown out easily. That last play came with two on and one out.

 

With Kreke on first base and one down in the ninth, Ryan Lindquist singled through the right side to put his team in position to take the lead. Curt Restko followed with a four-pitch walk to load the bases. The first offering to Nommensen then skipped toward the Samford dugout, allowing Kreke to score easily.

 

With first base open, Samford intentionally walked EIU's leading hitter to face Tokarz. The junior made the Bulldogs pay, lining an offering from SU closer Kyle Nichols to the wall in left-center. Tokarz was thrown out trying to reach third but got a warm greeting from his teammates on his way back to the dugout.

 

Facer put EIU ahead initially with his team-leading sixth home run of the season to leadoff the second inning. But Samford plated a pair of runs in the third.

 

Eastern used a small-ball approach to tie the game in the fifth. Kreke led off with a single, stole second base, advanced to third on a grounder to the right side off the bat of Alex Gee and scored on an RBI groundout from Lindquist.

 

Tokarz also doubled to left with one down in the sixth. After Facer was hit by a pitch, there were runners on the corners when Derbak lined a pitch down the right field line to plate a pair. Eastern's catcher has collected 25 of his 37 RBIs with two outs this season.

 

The Panthers were unable to retire Marseco, the OVC Co-Player of the Year, in the win. But it turned out not to matter. The switch-hitting shortstop went 3-for-3 with a pair of triples and two walks.

 

Since joining the OVC in 1997, only twice before has EIU won its first two games at the conference tournament: in 1999 and 2003. The Panthers won the tourney in '99 but lost twice on day three in '03 and were eliminated as the third-place finisher.

Mike Recchia is slated to start on the mound Friday for Eastern.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID