Richie Derbak did manage to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games with a 2-for-4 effort. He singled and doubled in his final two at-bats, respectively. However, Curt Restko's personal-best 10 game hit streak came to an end. He did reach safely on a pair of errors though.

After EIU tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fifth, the Braves surged ahead for good in the bottom half of the frame. Adam Kimble hit a three-run homer off of Scott Foley (0-1) with two outs. The inning should have been over, but an error on Foley on a sacrifice bunt attempt extended the frame.

 

“We've had a really good spring trip (4-1 record) so far; I'm excited about that,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “Their pitchers kept us off balance. We had a lot of men on base, but weren't as productive as we have been up to this point. There were opportunities early on and we didn't take advantage, some crucial at-bats where we didn't get it done. And part of it was because they pitched pretty well.

 

“We got Scott Foley in. He wasn't very sharp but we really needed to see where he is [coming back from an injury]. These are things we had to find out on the spring trip, win or lose. I feel good going into OVC play [at Morehead State this weekend].”

Zach Skidmore went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Jordan Tokarz recorded EIU's lone RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, plating Ryan Lindquist.

Eastern starter Mike Martin gave up only one hit over four innings. However, the leadoff walk he issued in the second inning ended up scoring. Zach Carney also pitched well in his first outing of the season, working two innings of hitless relief. Ryan Green retired the only batter he faced to leave the bases loaded in the eighth.

 

The Panthers had runners on the corners in the first inning and the bases loaded in the third, but failed to capitalize on both scoring chances. A 6-4-3 double play ended the first and Bradley starter Justin Ziegler struck out Alex Gee to close the third.

 

Nommensen was thrown out trying to steal third base with one out in the fifth inning. The Panthers also stranded runners on the corners in the sixth and eighth.

 

A leadoff walk ignited Bradley's fifth-inning rally. Back-to-back bunts followed, with Foley unable to find the ears on the second sacrifice attempt. The runner on third base initially held his ground, but scampered home after the pitcher fumbled the ball. After retiring the next hitter on a fly ball to left field, a two-out single put runners on the corners for Kimble, who homered to left.

 

Another unearned run scored in the sixth when Ben Thoma's throw to third base on a steal attempt got away.

Eastern's three-game OVC series at Morehead State (6-11) begins with a doubleheader Saturday, which is slated for a noon (CDT) first pitch. The weekend rotation of Josh Mueller, Tyler Kehrer and Mike Recchia are expected to start the three games. The Panthers have won 14 straight games against Morehead dating back to 2004.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID