TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State scored seven times in the bottom of the eighth inning to blow open a tie game and defeat Eastern Illinois baseball, 8-2, Tuesday afternoon in the midweek opener for both teams.

The Sycamores (7-4) sent 11 men to the plate eighth, with eight consecutive batters reaching base safely. The key hit was a one-out, two-run triple from Robby Ort, giving ISU its first lead of the day.

Eastern starter Troy Barton escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and went on to pitch four scoreless frames in his first collegiate start. He retired nine of the 11 batters he faced after the first. After giving up consecutive singles followed by a walk in the first, Barton got out of the inning by striking out the No. 5 hitter in the ISU lineup followed by an inning-ending popup.

 

“I'm very pleased with Troy Barton,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “We're going to need him with seven games in eight days down in Florida (next week). He kept the ball down, got out of jams and did a great job.

 

“We haven't been scoring runs as a team. And the pressure has been on the pitching and defense. If we don't score, we're not going to win. We can talk about the bad eighth inning. A lot of that comes because we no we can't score, and boom, it's three or four to one.”

Zach Borenstein saved a run in the fourth when he made a diving stop on a hard-hit grounder with a runner on second base and two outs. He got to his feet and threw the batter out at first.

 

Eastern (1-9) led 1-0 at the time thanks to three consecutive two-out hits in the top of the fourth. Richie Derbak, George Kalousek and Cam Strang all singled, Derbak scoring and Kalousek going first to third on Strang's RBI hit.

 

Gerik Wallsten knocked in EIU's other run with a two-out single in the ninth. Kalousek scored after reaching safely on a dropped third strike to open the inning.

The Panthers nearly took the lead in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third and two outs, Daniel Rowe roped a pitch that the ISU center fielder was able to make a sliding catch on. Strang and Ryan Dineen were both aboard after reaching on free passes. Wallsten moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt.

 

Indiana State tied the game with a two-out run in the sixth inning. A leadoff single turned into a double when Curt Restko lost his footing chasing down the ball in center field. Dillon Roark retired the next two hitters without the baserunner advancing, but Ort delivered a run-scoring single to left.

 

Mike Martin (0-2) struck out the first two batters he faced after taking over on the mound to open the seventh. But after retiring the first batter of the eighth, he issued a walk and gave up a base hit. Ort followed with the triple to deep center, taking advantage of an EIU outfield that was shading him to the left.

 

A dropped foul ball, a botched fielder's choice, two singles and a throwing error on sacrifice fly allowed four more runs to score.

 

The Sycamores used seven pitchers, going to the bullpen to begin an inning every time after the third.

The Panthers return to action Friday when they open a three-game series at South Florida. The first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. (CST).