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EASTERN ILLINOIS (15-22, 5-12) at Belmont (28-11, 14-4)
Friday, April 26 - Sunday, April 28
Nashville, Tenn. • E.S. Rose Park

 FIRST PITCH
The Panther baseball team travels to Belmont for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series on April 26-28. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday, April 26 at 5 p.m.
 
EIU is 9-4 in its last 13 games and is looking to finish strong down the stretch to make the conference tournament with four OVC series remaining. Five Panthers are batting over .300 to pace the offense, led by sophomore outfielder Caleb Howell who ranks 12th in the conference with a .344 batting average.
 
Belmont is currently tied for first in the conference standings with Jacksonville State, posting a 14-4 OVC record. The Bruins are 28-11 on the year and own a 19-5 record when playing at home. Belmont leads the conference in ERA (3.45) while ranking fourth in batting average (.286).
 
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
RHP Jake Johansmeier (3-3 W-L, 6.39 ERA) vs LHP Dan Ludwig (4-0 W-L, 2.88 ERA)
RHP Joe Greenfield (1-5 W-L, 4.22 ERA) vs LHP James Buckelew (2-1 W-L, 7.71 ERA)
RHP Matt Borens (2-4 W-L, 4.70 ERA) vs RHP Scott Moses (0-1 W-L, 1.50 ERA)
 
EIU-BELMONT SERIES HISTORY
The Bruins lead the all-time series between the two schools, 5-3, with all eight of the games being played in Nashville, Tenn. The last time the two teams met was in a three-game series on Feb. 26-28, 2010. EIU was swept in the series and lost each game by one run, including the series finale, 12-11, in 10 innings.
 
BORENS NAMED OVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore pitcher Matt Borens was named OVC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, April 22. The Monee, Ill., native posted his first collegiate complete game on Sunday, April 21 as Eastern Illinois topped Southeast Missouri 13-3 to capture the series by a 2-1 margin.
 
Borens allowed just four hits and one earned run through 8.1 innings of work before his defense committed two errors in the final inning which led to three additional hits and two unearned runs. He also recorded seven strikeouts with only one walk.
 
PANTHER NOTES
• Tyler Schweigert has made four consecutive starts at second base after playing shortstop to start the season. The junior infielder has going 4-for-7 at the plate in those games with four runs, five RBI, a double and a home run.
 
• Brant Valach has gone 7-for-10 at the plate in his last two games with five runs, five RBI, three doubles and a home run. The sophomore infielder is tied for third in the conference in doubles with teammate Treysen Vavra as both players have 15 doubles.
 
• EIU has posted a 9-4 record in its last 13 games with a .335 batting average. Three players have hit over .400 in those games led by Nick Priessman who is hitting .435 with four doubles, 13 RBI and 12 runs.
 
• Caleb Howell has a team-best .344 batting average this season to go along with 22 runs, 16 RBI and six extra-base hits. The sophomore outfielder is also the only player with a batting average over .300 in road and neutral site games.
 
• In OVC only games, senior outfielder Nick Priessman is hitting a team-best .383 with 10 runs and nine RBI. Treysen Vavra has a .328 batting average in those games with a team-best 15 RBI.
 
• Jake Johansmeier has a 1-1 record with a 1.46 ERA in five appearances during conference play. The freshman pitcher has nine strikeouts in 12.1 innings of work while holding opposing hitters to a .179 batting average.
 
• Garrison Stenger has a 3-0 record on the year with a 1.99 ERA in a team-high 17 appearances. The sophomore pitcher has only allowed eight runs (five earned) in 22.2 innings of work this season. During conference play, the left-handed pitcher has a 0.00 ERA with a 1-0 record in four appearances (5.2 IP).
 
• Panther head coach Jim Schmitz is closing in on his 500^th career win at the helm of the program. He currently has 491 wins in 19 seasons at EIU while accumulating 655 career head coaching victories in 26 seasons.
 
• The Panthers rank seventh in the OVC in batting average (.280) and fifth in ERA (5.25).
 
• Treysen Vavra's father is the third base coach for the Minnesota Twins after serving as the team's hitting coach from 2005-12. Other baseball connections include Cameron Berra being a distant relative of MLB Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
After the Belmont series, the Panthers return home for a three-game OVC series against Eastern Kentucky. Game one of the series begins at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 3.