CHARLESTON, Ill. – In a back-and-forth game that featured nine home runs, Jordan Tokarz's three-run shot in the eighth inning lifted Eastern Illinois baseball to a 10-6 victory against Saint Louis Tuesday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.

The Panthers (28-8) scored nine of their 10 runs on long balls. Jordan Kreke and Zach Skidmore both homered twice. Zach Borenstein also hit a solo shot. Eastern out hit the Bilikens (20-20), 16-7, en route to taking the rubber game of the season series.

 

Richie Derbak (5-2) surrendered two home runs, but closed out the game to earn his fifth win of the season. Brian Morell gave up only two hits and tied his career high with eight strikeouts over five innings. Mike Martin served as the bridge from Morrell to Derbak, retiring four of the seven batters he faced.

With Curt Restko and Borenstein on base and the game tied at 6-6, Tokarz connected for his team-leading 12th homer of the season to center field. Restko ignited the rally with a single to right center and Borenstein also reached on an opposite-field hit.

 

Alex Gee's RBI single later in the inning, which plated Skidmore from second base, accounted for EIU's lone run of the game that did not score via a homer.

 

“We just stayed patient with the game,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “It was what I can a 'pick-me up game.' We just picked each other up. #[Evan] Zalders# didn't get the bunt down (in the eighth) and what do we do, we get a base hit and then a home run. This is what we did early on [this season]. Morrell was very, very sharp; Mike Martin, nice to see what he did. Richie, with the wind, made some bad pitches. He's not always going to be lights out. That's just the way it goes and obviously we came back.

 

“It was nice to get up by four, that's our big goal, so Gee's base hit [was important]. I told the team 'I like the home runs; I can't say I don't like it.' But Restko really had a bad weekend, and he starts the rally off with a base hit to right. And then Borenstein's little poke to left field, that's what we're trying to do in that last inning. He made a bad pitch to Tokarz up, and that's what you do with that. It was a nice game where we got down in the score and still kept coming back and doing well.”

 

Kreke and Skidmore both finished with three hits, Kreke extending his hitting streak to a career-best 12 consecutive games.

 

Ryan Lindquist nearly made another highlight-reel caliber catch in center field in the seventh inning. Ryan Bennett drove a pitch from Derbak to the warning track with two out and one aboard, and EIU leading 4-3. Lindquist leapt and made the catch but also crashed into the fence. The collision jarred the ball loose from his glove and over the fence for a home run.

 

The Panthers were able to close out the win with a nice line-drive double play. In the top of the ninth, SLU had runners on first and second with one out. Danny Brock hit a line drive to Kreke at shortstop and Tokarz beat Bennett to the bag at second. The throw was on the money to end the game.

 

Kreke hit solo shots in the second and sixth innings for his third multi-homer game of the season. Kreke's second homer came on the first pitch he saw from SLU reliever Garrett Cooper. Eastern hit at least one long ball against all four Biliken pitchers that took the mound.

 

Skidmore went deep in the fifth and seventh innings, posting his second multi-homer game of the year. His second long ball, a two-run shot, put EIU back on top after Bennett's homer in the top of the frame.

 

Borenstein, meanwhile, hit a solo shot in fifth.

 

Along with Bennett, SLU also got homers from Ben Bratten (a two-run shot in the fifth) and Andrew Guerra (a solo blast in the in the eighth).

The Panthers continue their 10-game homestand Wednesday with a 3 p.m. midweek date against Bradley.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID