CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois baseball scored 12 of its 14 runs in just two innings and rode the big rallies to a 14-4 win against Eastern Kentucky in game one of Friday's doubleheader at Coaches Stadium. The Colonels won the nightcap, 5-4.

 

Eastern Kentucky (27-23, 10-12 OVC) will have to win Saturday's rubber game to have a chance at qualifying for next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Panthers (35-12, 13-4 OVC) locked up the league's regular-season title and top seed in the tournament last weekend.

Jordan Kreke connected for a grand slam and Jake Samuels hit a two-run shot in EIU's seven-run eighth inning that blew open game one. The Panthers also scored five times in the fifth.

 

The Colonels withstood an EIU comeback in game two, never relinquishing the lead after going up 1-0 in the top of the third. The Panthers stranded runners on second and third in the sixth, and the potential tying run on third base as the final out of the contest was recorded in the seventh.

 

Both teams got a solid pitching performance from a starter. EIU's Josh Mueller (8-0) worked 6 2/3 innings of four-run ball in the series opener. He did not give up a run until the seventh inning and one of those tallies went up on the board after he had left the game. Entering the seventh, Mueller had surrendered only three singles.

 

In the nightcap, Paul Duncan (7-6) pitched his fourth complete game of the season. He struck out six and kept the Panthers off the scoreboard until the fourth. He retired Zach Skidmore and Kreke to close out the game with the potential tying run in scoring position.

 

“Overall, I wanted what I called tournament energy; it was there,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “I'm really pleased, it was tournament energy. There were certain things that we boo-booed on, but golly Josh Mueller was exceptional. We swung the bats well in game one. We had opportunities in game two. It wasn't like he just pitched and we got out, out, out. You've got to sometimes say the other guy pitched well. Duncan made three or four big pitches to three or four batters, or else it could have been 8-3. I'm not that worried about the winning right now, I'm worried about being ready for next Thursday (EIU's OVC Tournament opener).”

 

Brian Morrell pitched multiple innings of relief in both games, finishing the day with starters-like numbers of 5 2/3 innings and two runs allowed on nine hits.

 

Every Panther in the starting lineup had at least one hit in game one, as EIU pounded out 18 as a team. Skidmore finished the day with a team-high four hits and four runs scored. Kreke and Samuels both collected five RBIs in the twinbill.

 

The Panthers sent 11 men to the plate in both the fifth and eighth innings of game one. Zach Borenstein ignited the five-run rally with a base hit, followed by a double from Tokarz. Both runners scored on Skidmore's single up the middle through a drawn in infield. Richie Derbak started the two-out portion of the rally with another base hit. Samuels and Ryan Lindquist singled home teammates after walks to Alex Gee and Ben Thoma.

 

The Colonels had cut EIU's lead to 7-4 entering the bottom of the eighth. Thoma got the line moving with a base hit and Lindquist beat out a well-placed sacrifice bunt. Borenstein advanced both runners with a sac bunt and EKU intentionally walked Tokarz to load the bases. The strategy backfired when Alex Napier hit Skidmore with the second pitch of the at-bat. Kreke followed with an opposite-field homer for his second grand slam of the season. Gee later reached on an infield single in front of Samuels' fifth homer of the year.

 

Eastern Kentucky had its first batter reach in each of the first four innings of game two. Continually pitching from the stretch didn't catch up with Mike Recchia (8-2) until the third inning. The right-hander recorded all three outs in the first inning via the strikeout, leaving runners on second and third. But in the third, Tyler Rehmel laced a double off the fence in left with two runners aboard. However, Aaron Barrows was thrown out at the plate on a nice relay from Derbak to Kreke to Thoma.

 

Recchia was lifted in favor of Morrell after throwing nine straight balls to begin the fourth. Both hitters that walked ended up scoring, but it was the two runs EKU scored in the top of the fifth that proved to be the difference in the game.

 

The Colonels scored twice with outs in the fifth, answering the two-spot EIU had posted in the previous frame. Anthony Ottrando delivered a two-run double to center to make it a 5-2 game.

 

Skidmore opened both the fourth and sixth innings with hits and later scored. Derbak singled him home in the fourth and came around on a two-out base hit from Samuels. With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, Skidmore scored on a wild pitch with Thoma at the plate.

 

Lindquist led off the seventh with single down the left field line. He scored easily from second on Tokarz's double to right center. But EIU was unable to plate the game-tying run.

Tyler Kehrer is expected to start Saturday's regular-season finale for the Panthers. The first pitch is slated for 1 p.m. EIU's eight seniors will be honored prior to the game for their contributions to the program.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID