Boxscores: Game 1 | Game Two
RICHMOND, Ky. – After losing a 12-inning game 1-0 in walk-off fashion, Eastern Illinois baseball committed two errors in the fourth inning of the nightcap of the Ohio Valley Conference-opening doubleheader and Eastern Kentucky scored five times in the frame to defeat the Panthers, 6-3, and sweep the Saturday twinbill.
EIU's game one starter Mike Recchia worked seven scoreless innings in his best outing of the season. He gave up five hits, all singles, walked five and struck out seven. Matt Miller (0-6) was stellar in relief, pitching a season-high 4 2/3 innings. But he gave up a leadoff double in the 12th and that baserunner ended up scoring the game-winning run on a two-out single by Ryan Faidley.
Rich Ruff took over for Miller with runners on first and second and two outs in the 12th. Ruff walked EKU cleanup hitter Anthony Ottrando and gave up the game-winning hit to Faidley on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded.
The Panthers (4-17, 0-2 OVC) out hit EKU (10-11, 2-0 OVC), 9-7, in game one but left 11 runners on base; seven of those 11 baserunners were stranded in scoring position.
The Colonels' Stephen Hefler and Matt Harris teamed up on the 12-inning shutout. Hefler, the starter, worked eight innings, giving up eight hits (all singles) and two walks while striking out six. Harris (1-3) gave up only one hit, a one-out double by
Daniel Rowe in the 11th, in his four innings of relief. He struck out the side in the 11th around Rowe's double.
Hefler struck out the final two batters he faced, stranding EIU pinch runner
Nick Priessman after he moved to third base with only one out in the eighth inning.
Eastern Kentucky left 14 runners on base in game one, although three of those stranded runners were in the 12th as the home team celebrated a walk-off win. Recchia struck out the final batter of an inning three times, including the second when he fanned Joey Stevens with the bases loaded. The final out of the day Recchia recorded came with runners on second and third in the seventh, getting Ottrando to ground out to shortstop.
The walk-off loss was EIU's fourth of the season and its longest game since losing at Saint Louis in 12 innings in April 2008. The Panthers were shutout for the first time since an April 2008 loss at Samford and blanked in 1-0 fashion for the first time since March 2008 at Tennessee Tech.
Eastern Illinois took a 2-0 lead into the fourth inning of game two. But the Colonels' recorded five hits in the inning, including a two-run double after an error extended the frame. A pair of infield singles ignited the rally.
EIU's game two starter
Mike Hoekstra (1-1) gave up six runs (three earned) on eight hits through four-plus innings, suffering the first loss of his collegiate career. The final run he was charged with scored after he had given way to the bullpen in the fifth.
Alex Gee collected a pair of RBIs in game two, plating
Curt Restko with a sacrifice fly in the first and
Zach Borenstein on a two-out single in the fifth.
Ben Thoma doubled home Borenstein in the third but EIU squandered an opportunity to extend its lead in that inning.
There were runners on second and third with none out after Thoma's double. EKU starter Paul Duncan (2-1) limited the damage by getting Gee to pop out and then escaped the inning on an unconventional 3-2 double play. Restko was thrown out at home after
Cam Strang was retired on a ground ball to first base.
Sunday's series finale is slated for a noon (CDT) first pitch. The probable pitching matchup is EIU's
Brent McNeil (Jr, RHP) vs. EKU's Anthony Bazzani (Fr, RHP).
