Live Stats (All 3 Games) | OVC Weekly Release

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Having lost consecutive games over the weekend for the first time this season, Eastern Illinois baseball looks to return to its winning ways as the season-long 10-game homestand continues with three midweek games at Coaches Stadium.

 

The Panthers (27-8) are slated to host Saint Louis (20-19) Tuesday, Bradley (13-20) Wednesday and Illinois College (8-12) Thursday this week. All three games are set for a 3 p.m. first pitch. The homestand concludes this weekend with a three-game non-conference series against SIU Edwardsville.

 

Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz said he plans to start Brian Morrell (Sr, RHP) and Matt Miller (So, RHP) the first two games, respectively. Thursday's starter will be determined later in the week, but multiple pitchers are expected to take the mound in an all-staff medley.

 

The 15th-year skipper also said he hopes to get a better feel for the injury status of catchers Gerik Wallsten and Ben Thoma. Wallsten has not played since April 10 and Thoma was limited to designated hitter role in the weekend series against Jacksonville State.

 

“We've got to get the catching situation evaluated with Ben and Gerik, and who can catch which games,” Schmitz said. “We're also looking at how we can mix-and-match better with [Jordan] Kreke. If he's going to be our first arm out of the bullpen on Sunday, maybe he'll be the DH that day. We're trying to look at better ways to use one of our better arms.

 

“You don't want to lose two-of-three, but one bad weekend is all we had. We have to get back to playing the game like we did. We call it energy or just being ready to play. The eight games over the next two weeks give us time to plan on what we want to do heading into the big Southeast Missouri weekend (May 2-3). I think we can be healthy going into that series.”

 

Kreke is a riding an 11-game hitting streak at the plate, the fifth longest active streak in the Ohio Valley Conference entering the week. It's also his second streak of that length this year. On the mound, he has pitched nine consecutive scoreless innings over his last five relief appearances. His streak of consecutive batters retired ended at 20 Sunday.

 

Tuesday's game with SLU sets up as the rubber game of the season series. The Bilikens won the first meeting in walk-off fashion, 5-4, Feb. 27 in Evansville. The Panthers took the March 31 rematch in Midtown St. Louis, 12-8.

 

Morrell pitched in relief in each of the first two meetings, working a combined five innings and giving up two earned runs. The Bilikens are expected to counter with Andrew Buckingham (So, LHP), who did not pitch in either previous game.

 

At the plate, Zach Skidmore hit a two-out, three-run homer in the sixth inning and Ryan Lindquist went 4-for-4 with three runs scored in the game in St. Louis.

 

A 7-1 loss to Bradley on March 18 was the only blemish on an otherwise impressive 7-1 spring break trip record. The Panthers went on to post a 13-game win after being held to their lowest run total of the season in that neutral-site defeat. However, the Braves have had EIU's number the last few seasons, winning six of the last seven meetings dating back to 2004. Eastern's lone victory during that stretch came in a neutral-site contest in Florida during the 2006 spring break trip.

 

Bradley is expected to start Justin Ziegler or Jacob Booden. Both pitchers are freshman right-handers. Ziegler also started the first meeting and limited EIU to one unearned over 4 1/3 innings.

 

For EIU, meanwhile, Miller is projected to make his first start since the April 1, 2008 midweek game against Monmouth College (Illinois). Schmitz said he wants to see how Miller fares as a starter after making 10 appearances out of the bullpen this season. Prior to his short outing Sunday in the rubber game loss to JSU, the sophomore had pitched at least two innings in five straight appearances.

Monmouth is a rival of Illinois College in the Midwest Conference, an NCAA Division III league featuring schools in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Illinois College is based in Jacksonville.

Recapping Last Week: Eastern Illinois posted a big midweek win at Illinois Tuesday, its first in Champaign since 1996, but lost its weekend series with Jacksonville State. It marked the third year in a row that JSU has won the series after EIU took the opener. Eastern's 10-game home win streak ended with the game two loss… EIU pitching legend Marty Pattin, a 13-year MLB veteran who won 114 games as a pro, had his No. 19 retired Saturday between games of the doubleheader. It's the first number retired in program history. Ryan Lindquist currently wears it, but it will not be issued again after this season… Brett Nommensen suffered a broken Hamate bone in the April 10 win at UT Martin. He'll have surgery Tuesday and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks… Jordan Tokarz homered twice in the back-to-back wins against Blackburn College and Jacksonville State. He posted his first career five-hit game in the JSU victory. He tied an NCAA record (held by many) with two homers in the first inning vs. Blackburn. He recorded a pair of RBIs in EIU's big midweek win at Illinois Tuesday… Richie Derbak was the winning pitcher in relief in the victories against Illinois and Jacksonville State. He pitched three innings of scoreless relief at Illinois and two innings of scoreless relief in the game one win vs. Jax State. He struck out two in both outings… Jordan Kreke delivered a two-out, walk-off single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of the JSU win. It was EIU's second walk-off win of the year. Kreke also pitched five innings of scoreless relief for the week… Bart Thyer also homered twice in the Blackburn win, as EIU hit eight long balls as a team… Zach Skidmore hit a big two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning of the win at Illinois. However, his 10-game hitting streak ended in game one of the JSU series… Ben Thoma hit a two-run homer in the first inning of the opening game of the JSU series. Derbak and Zach Borenstein went deep in the nightcap of the doubleheader… Mike Recchia suffered his first loss of the season Sunday, giving up more runs (eight) through 3 2/3 innings than he had in his first eight starts of the season (six).

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID