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WINTER HAVEN, Fla.  – The Panther baseball team dropped a 9-6 contest to Navy on Wednesday afternoon at Chain of Lakes Park. EIU falls to 5-10 on the season.
 
“We weren't able to hold onto a lead this afternoon,” said Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz. “ I thought the guys battled really well the entire game.
 
“I thought we started to swing the bats better today. I like what Nick Priessman is doing at the top of the order and I also thought Nathan Sopena played well too.”
 
Trailing 6-5 heading into the top of the seventh inning, Brant Valach hit an RBI single up the middle to score Nathan Sopena and tie the game at six. Navy responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs on a Greg Dupell three RBI triple to give the Midshipmen a 9-6 lead. Navy would retire the final six Panther batters to win its eighth game of the year.
 
EIU got on the scoreboard first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a David Ciaglia sacrifice fly to score Nick Priessman. Navy scored three unanswered runs over the next two innings to take a 3-1 advantage before the Panthers scored three runs on two hits and one Navy error in the top of the fifth, giving the Panthers a 4-3 lead.
 
After the Midshipmen tied the game at four in the bottom of the fifth, EIU regained the lead in the top of the following inning on a Jacob Reese RBI single. Navy again responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead, 6-5.
 
Navy posted three more hits (12-9) than the Panthers and committed one less error (2-1). The Midshipmen left two more runners on base (12-10) than EIU.
 
T.J. McManus led EIU at the plate, going 2-for-5 with two RBI. Reese also added two RBI while Priessman scored two runs.
 
Darin Worman (0-2) took the loss for the Panthers, surrendering three hits and two runs in 1.2 innings of work. Freshman Matt Borens made his first career start and went 3.1 innings while allowing six hits and three runs.
 
Joel Rinehart (3-1) picked up the win for Navy, striking out three and surrendering one run in the game's final 3.2 innings. Alex Azor paced the offense with a 2-for-4 plate performance with two runs and two RBI.
 
The Panthers return to action on Thursday, March 15 against Bucknell. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fla.