EIU Notes  |  Live Stats  |  Listen Live

EASTERN ILLINOIS vs Bradley
May 15 • Noon
Coaches Stadium (500) • Charleston, Ill.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
RHP Andrew Grahn (0-5 W-L, 5.65 ERA) vs LHP David Koll (0-1 W-L, 7.50 ERA) 

GAME 50
The Panther baseball team plays host to in-state foe Bradley on Tuesday, May 15 at Coaches Stadium with the first pitch slated for noon. EIU is 24-25 on the year while Bradley is 25-22-1.
 
LAST TIME OUT
EIU posted a 2-2 record last week, dropping a midweek contest at Saint Louis on Tuesday before losing the OVC series opener at home on Friday against UT Martin (snapping a seven-game conference win streak). The Panthers bounced back to win the final two games of the series and improve to 14-9 in conference action. EIU has won nine of its last 10 conference games while posting a 10-3 overall record in its last 13 contests.
 
The Panther hit .294 as a team last week paced by Ryan Dineen who recorded a .643 batting average. EIU had 16 extra-base hits in the four games, including seven home runs.
 
In the weekend series against UT Martin, the pitching staff posted a 3.33 ERA with 22 strikeouts to only eight walks. The staff held the opposing Skyhawk hitters to a .232 batting average on the weekend.
 
EIU-BRADLEY SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers are 25-17 all-time against Bradley since joining the Division I ranks in 1982, including a 9-6 record when playing in Charleston. EIU head coach Jim Schmitz is 12-9 all-time versus the Braves.
 
LAST TIME OUT: BRADLEY
EIU picked up a 3-2 road win over Bradley last season on May 17 at O'Brien Field in the last meeting between the two schools. Cameron Berra went 2-for-4 with a run while Zach Borenstein and Jacob Reese both added a hit and an RBI.
 
Six Panther pitchers saw action in the contest, combining to throw seven strikeouts and issue four walks. Both teams had seven hits in the game while neither squad committed an error.
 
DINEEN NAMED OVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Through four contests last week, Ryan Dineen hit .643 (9-for-14) with a 1.143 slugging percentage. He scored six runs to go along with four RBI, two home runs and a double. The Valparaiso, Ind., native also had two stolen bases on the week.
 
On the year, Dineen has a .335 batting average – the second highest on the team – with 31 runs, 26 RBI and 15 extra-base hits. He also has 14 stolen bases, the fourth most in the conference.
 
Dineen becomes the second Panther to earn an OVC weekly award this season as Christian Slazinik was named pitcher of the Week on March 12. The infielder becomes the first position player to be tabbed player of the week by the conference since Jordan Kreke who picked up the weekly honor on April 13, 2009.
 
Dineen shared the weekly honors with Austin Peay's Jordan Hankins. Austin Peay's Andy Cox and Eastern Kentucky's Matt Fyffe were named co-pitchers of the week.
 
VALACH LEADS OVC FRESHMAN AT THE PLATE
Freshman Brant Valach has a .331 batting average this season, the highest average of any freshman in the conference and the third highest average on the Panther baseball team.
 
The infielder has 25 RBI on the year with 10 extra-base hits and 15 runs. He has a team-best .408 (20-for-49) batting average with runners in scoring position and has 10, two-out RBI. In OVC play, the Orland Park, Ill., native is hitting .404 – the fourth highest batting average in the conference.
 
MCMANUS LEADING THE PANTHER OFFENSE
Redshirt-senior T.J. McManus leads the Panther offense with a .352 batting average, the sixth highest batting average in the OVC. The Glenview, Ill., native has a team-leading 38 RBI and 13 doubles to go along with 31 runs and nine homers.
 
In conference play, he is hitting .414 with 24 runs and 15 extra-base hits. McManus also has a conference-best .805 slugging percentage through 23 conference games.
 
THOMA IMPROVING AT THE PLATE
In the Panthers first 34 games, redshirt-senior Ben Thoma was batting .190 on the year. Since then (last 15 games), he has posted a .375 batting average (24-for-64) with a .813 slugging percentage. During those games, he has seven doubles, seven home runs, 21 RBI and 13 runs.
 
EIU ONE LINERS
• EIU has a 10-16 record in non-conference action this season. The Panthers are hitting .246 during non-conference play led by Ryan Dineen who is batting .337. The pitching staff has combined to post a 3.96 ERA against non-OVC foes.
 
• Through 14 home games, the Panthers are hitting .303 as a team. Five players are batting over .300 paced by freshman Brant Valach who is hitting .412 (21-for-51) with seven runs and seven RBI.
 
• Leadoff hitter Caleb Howell is batting .372 (16-for-43) when playing inside Coaches Stadium. The freshman outfielder has eight runs, six RBI and four doubles at home this season.
 
• Ben Thoma has hit nine of his team leading 13 home runs at home this year. The Columbia, Ill., native is hitting .293 inside Coaches Stadium with 20 RBI, nine homes and 12 runs.
 
PANTHERS LEAD OVC IN ERA
The Panther pitching staff continues to pace the OVC with a 4.02 ERA. EIU also leads the conference in fewest runs and earned runs while ranking second in fewest walks allowed.
 
PANTHERS LEAD OVC IN SACRIFICE HITS
The Panthers have a total of 75 sacrifice hits on the year, including 57 sacrifice bunts. Junior Nick Priessman paces the squad with 12 sacrifice bunts, the 37th most in the nation.
 
HOEKSTRA IN THE CAREER PITCHING CHARTS
Redshirt-senior Mike Hoekstra is tied for second all-time in career games started with 43. The RHP has a 14-13 career record with a 4.08 ERA. He currently ranks third in career innings pitched with 271.1 innings of action and ninth in career strikeouts with 180.
 
THOMA IN THE CAREER BATTING CHARTS
Redshirt-senior Ben Thoma is tied for second in career home runs with 37 – two shy of tying the school record – while also ranking sixth in career RBI (136) and ninth in doubles (43).
 
WORMAN CLOSING IN ON SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
Senior Darin Worman has made 33 appearances on the mound this season, one shy of tying the EIU single-season record set by Jeremy Sanders in 1999. He is also three shy of tying the OVC single-season mark of 35 set by Zach Gerler in 2010.
 
PITCHERS LOOK TO LEAD OVC IN ERA FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE SEASON
EIU returns seven pitchers – including four starters – from a staff that lead the OVC in earned run average a year ago. Under the direction of assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Skylar Meade, the pitching staff has led the conference in ERA in three of the last four seasons. EIU finished the 2009 campaign ranked second in ERA.
 
SCHMITZ ENTERS 18th SEASON AS HEAD COACH
Panther head coach Jim Schmitz enters his 18th season at the helm of the EIU baseball program and 25th overall season as a head coach. Schmitz has amassed over 600 wins as a head coach.
 
Under Schmitz, the Panthers have won four outright OVC regular-season titles – tied for the most by any school in the OVC. He has also won OVC Coach of the Year on three occasions, the most by any skipper in the conference.
 
A total of 16 players at EIU have been drafted under Schmitz, including five players in the last three years. 43 Panthers have earned first team or second team all-conference selections since Schmitz took over the program in 1995.