Boxscores: Game 1 | Game 2 >>> Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois baseball erupted for season highs of 14 runs and 17 hits and Mike Hoekstra pitched a three-hit shutout, as the Panthers salvaged a doubleheader split with Morehead State thanks to a 14-0 victory in the nightcap Saturday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.
Morehead (18-16, 2-3 OVC) won game one 6-2 behind a complete-game performance from starting pitcher Michael Bottoms. That victory ended EIU's 17-game game win streak in the series, which dated back to 2004.
The Panthers (8-21, 3-5 OVC) scored 10 times on nine hits in the fifth inning of game two. It marked the first time EIU scored 10-plus runs in an inning since an April 2009 win against Blackburn College.
Richie Derbak had two hits and four RBIs during the rally and all nine hitters in the lineup reached base.
Curt Restko had two hits in both games to extend his career-best hitting streak to 12 consecutive games. He also saved Hoekstra of a run in the first inning of game two with a great diving catch in right center field. Hoekstra went on to pitch his first career complete-game shutout in the seven-inning affair. It was EIU's third shutout victory in the last six games and the first complete game of the season by a Panther pitcher.
Hoekstra (3-1) walked J.D. Ashbrook on a full count pitch to open the top of the sixth after he finally returned to the mound following the 10-run rally. It ended his streak of 26 1/3 consecutive innings without issuing a base on balls.
“[Hoekstra] is a great game two guy for us because [he throws strikes],” EIU head coach
Jim Schmitz said. “His velocity is up right now. Everyone just feels great with him on the mound. So no matter what happens in game one, we think we have a great situation with him and Josh [Mueller] tomorrow.”
Mike Recchia (3-3) suffered the loss in game one for the Panthers. He hit Ashbrook with the first pitch of the day he threw and then gave up a home run to left by Daniel Pugh. The longball ended Recchia's scoreless innings streak at 17 1/3.
Zach Borenstein tied game one with a two-run homer in the third inning, but the Eagles answered with a three-spot in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good. Recchia walked the No. 8 and 9 hitters in the MSU lineup with two on and two outs. The base on balls to Travis Redmon forced in a run and Ashbrook followed with a two-run single to right center.
Bottoms (3-2) pitched the first nine-inning complete game of the season by an Eagle pitcher. He worked very quickly and had to throw only 121 pitches, limiting EIU to six hits while issuing just one walk. Bottoms retired the Panthers on only three pitches in the first inning, the first of his four 1-2-3 frames.
“For a team that doesn't hit well, we wanted to be aggressive,” Schmitz said. “Even that first inning, two balls were hit pretty hard. Maybe that wasn't the right game plan to have with Bottoms. I'll take a little bit of the negative there since it didn't work. We started taking with him more later on, but he just pitched a good game. He was in and out with a lot of change of speeds.
“We had one bad inning. Recchia had the two walks and got a ball up. We get mad about a little base hit but if you don't walk those guys. He wasn't very sharp. We can't expect him to be sharp all the time. When he's not, we need to score. You can't expect all the time to say 'Mike's going to shut them out.'”
Eastern scored in four of the first five innings of game two against MSU starting pitcher Jeff Arnold (4-1). The Panthers' first hitter singled to open each of those four frames.
Alex Gee plated Restko with a two-out double in the first inning. The following frame,
Cam Strang led off with a hit,
Ryan Dineen bunted him into scoring position and
Gerik Wallsten knocked in the EIU shortstop with a base hit to left center.
Eastern executed two more sacrifice bunts and plated two more runs in the fourth inning. Derbak, Dineen and
Daniel Rowe all had singles during the rally.
The Panthers sent 15 men to the plate in their 10-run inning. Like Derbak,
Ben Thoma also had two hits in the frame and scored twice. Borenstein singled in his first at-bat and walked his second time up; he also scored twice.
Borenstein and Thoma both singled to ignite the rally. Gee bunted both runners up and ended up reaching safely on the play. Morehead went to the bullpen, bringing in lefthander Hunter Hewitt to face Derbak, who won the battle with a two-run double to right.
After a walk and a fielder's choice, MSU relievers Casey Branham and Garrick Whittle were both unable to record an out. Wallsten, Rowe and Thoma all singled home runners as the inning continued. Derbak's two-run base hit capped the scoring.
Cody Gibson finally brought the inning to an end and went on to retire all five batters he faced.
The rubber game of the series Sunday is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch. The probable pitching matchup is EIU's
Josh Mueller (Jr, RHP) vs. MSU's Tyler Hieneman (So, LHP).
