CHARLESTON, Ill. – The bottom third of Eastern Illinois baseball's lineup went 6-for-9 with four RBIs and four runs scored, leading the Panthers to a 9-5 victory against Illinois State in the home opener Wednesday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.

Eastern (15-5) has now won five straight and nine of 10. Illinois State (10-7) lost for only the second time in its last eight games.

 

Brett Nommensen led off the game with a home run for the third time this season. Jordan Kreke and Gerik Wallsten also went deep. Nommensen has now hit safely in 14 straight games, Kreke 10 consecutive. The Panthers have connected for 16 home runs during their five-game win streak.

Zach Borenstein was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. Curt Restko had two hits and robbed Anthony Ruffolo of a three-run homer with EIU leading 8-5 in the top of the seventh. Wallsten executed a pair of sacrifice bunts, squeezing home a run in the fifth, before going deep in his final at-bat.

Mike Martin (2-0) posted his second victory of the season with four innings of three-run ball, all three tallies coming in the second. Matt Miller worked a pair of scoreless innings in relief, and Richie Derbak closed out the game out with a pair of hitless innings for his fourth save of the season and 11th career.

 

“It's the first home game and I'm obviously very happy jumping on them again with five runs in the first two innings,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “It's something we're doing really well; we're coming out ready to play and getting a lot of runs early. It's a nice formula – I don't know how long it's going to last – but that worked out well. And Mike Martin and Matt Miller, we're getting some more guys in the rotation to give us some depth. We feel real good about them.

 

“We're doing a lot of things really well. We're getting pitches to hit and we're also manufacturing runs. We keep saying 'add on,' that's our phrase in [the dugout]. It takes away the pressure. With a 9-5 score, how much pressure is on Richie – None. At 6-5, it's a different game. This is our formula: get up early and add on to the game. And we did it again, so I'm real excited about that.”

However, Derbak's 17-game hitting streak came to an end after the junior went 0-for-4. He was robbed of a base hit in the fifth when ISU pitcher Matt Werderitch speared a line drive destined for center field.

 

Having already scored twice in the inning, ISU had runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh. Ruffolo hit a deep fly ball to left that would have gone for his second homer of the day. But Restko sprinted back to the fence, giving himself plenty of time to stick his glove over the top of the fence and snare the deep drive.

 

After hitting a pair of homers in its three-run first inning, EIU manufactured a pair of runs in the following frame. Borenstein led off with an opposite-field double and Restko drew a walk. Wallsten moved both runners up with his first sac bunt. Illinois State chose to intentionally walk Nommensen, a strategy that backfired when Quinn Ewert (0-2) hit Jordan Tokarz with a pitch. Zach Skidmore followed with a sacrifice fly to center.

 

Nommensen opened the game by hitting a rising blast to straight away center. After a two-out single by Jake Samuels, Kreke homered to left – going deep for the fourth time in the last five games.

 

Samuels led off the three-run fifth with a double. Kreke followed with a base hit down the left field line, taking second on the throw that held Samuels at third. After Derbak lined out, Borenstein plated both runners with a single up the middle. Wallsten squeezed home his classmate after a base hit by Restko.

The Panthers return to action Saturday when they open a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Tennessee Tech with a noon doubleheader.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID