Coaches Stadium (500) • Charleston, Ill.

FIRST PITCH
The Panther baseball team plays host to Belmont in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series on April 25-27. Game one is slated for 3 p.m. on Friday.
 
The Panthers are fifth in the conference in batting average (.284) and eighth in ERA (5.85 ERA). EIU is 5-7 in home games this year including a 1-5 mark in home OVC games.
 
Belmont enters the weekend with a conference-best 3.81 ERA while ranking 10^th in batting average (.235). Belmont has won 11 of its last 15 games and is 3-3 in its last six OVC games.
 
SCHMITZ TO BE RECOGNIZED ON SATURDAY
On Saturday, the Panthers will recognize head coach Jimmy Schmitz for capturing his 500^th win at EIU earlier this season. Former players have been invited back to campus to celebrate the honor in a pregame ceremony and cookout.
 
Former players looking for more information on Saturday's events, contact assistant athletic director Dave Kidwell at dakidwell@eiu.edu or 217-581-2824.
 
EIU-BELMONT SERIES HISTORY
The Bruins lead the all-time series between the two schools, 7-4. Friday's contest with the Bruins will be the first game played at Coaches Stadium in the series history.
 
Belmont won the series, 2-1, last year on April 26-28 in Nashville, Tenn. EIU hit .187 in the series with a 2.39 ERA. Joe Greenfield posted a complete game in the 3-1 win on April 27, striking out seven batters with no walks while only allowing six hits.
 
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Matt Borens (1-4 W-L, 4.00 ERA) vs LHP Patrick McGrath (2-6 W-L, 3.88 ERA)
RHP Jake Johansmeier (2-3 W-L, 5.76 ERA) vs LHP James Buckelew (4-4 W-L, 2.42 ERA)
RHP Joe Greenfield (5-4 W-L, 4.99 ERA) vs RHP Austin Coley (3-1 W-L, 3.28 ERA)
 
COACHING MATCHUPS
Belmont: Dave Jarvis
Career record: 814-582-1 (26th) | Belmont record: 490-433-1 (17th)
 
Eastern Illinois: Jim Schmitz
Career record: 674-701 (27th) | EIU record: 510-540 (20th)
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers travel to Saint Louis on Tuesday, April 29 for a 6 p.m. game. EIU then plays at Eastern Kentucky for a three-game OVC series on May 2-4.
 
DIAMOND NOTES
• Caleb Howell went 2-for-4 at the plate in the loss at Illinois, his 21^st multiple-hit game of the year. The junior outfielder ranks second in the conference and 11^th in the nation with a .409 batting average. He has 192 career hits, needing only nine more hits to move into the career top-10 hitting chart at EIU.
 
• The Panthers are hitting .314 at home this season with two players hitting over .400 in Caleb Howell and Mitch Gasbarro. Howell has hit .418 at Coaches Stadium during his three-year career while classmate Brant Valach has added a .399 batting average.
 
• In OVC only games, Brant Valach leads the conference with a .840 slugging percentage while ranking second in batting average (.460) and tied for third in RBI (22). He has a career .388 batting average in OVC play with 54 RBI and 28 extra-base hits.
 
• Caleb Howell is hitting .389 in his OVC career with 59 runs, 36 RBI and 18 extra-base hits. He has added a .465 on-base percentage in those games.
 
• Since returning to the lineup on March 28, Brant Valach is hitting .424 with 23 RBI, 12 runs and nine extra-base hits. The junior infielder missed a month of action with an injury and was hitting .143 before returning to the lineup.
 
• Matt Borens ranks second in the conference in strikeouts (61) and third in innings pitched (69.2). The junior pitcher has a 4.00 ERA on the year with a 1-4 record.
 
• Tyler Schweigert is hitting .306 this season with 20 runs and 14 RBI. The senior infielder entered the season with a .171 career batting average.
 
• Mitch Gasbarro is hitting .328 this season with 34 runs, the second most on the team. The sophomore infielder hit .200 in 28 games a year ago.
 
• The Panthers lead the conference in sacrifice bunts with 30. Mitch Gasbarro paces the squad with seven sacrifice bunts, the third most in the OVC.
 
• Ben Kennedy ranks tied for third in the conference in appearances with 21. The senior pitcher has a 1-1 record with a 3.71 ERA in 26.2 innings of action.
 
BARTON IN THE EIU RECORD BOOKS
Senior pitcher Troy Barton ranks eighth in career appearances at EIU with 68. He is 31 strikeouts away from enter the top-10 in career strikeouts and 14.1 innings pitched away from enter the top-10 in career innings pitched.
 
SCHMITZ WINS NO. 500 AT EIU
Panther head coach Jim Schmitz won his 500th game at EIU on Friday, Feb. 28 in a 10-5 win over Michigan State in 10 innings. He is the longest tenured coach at EIU and is the all-time wins leader. He ranks sixth all-time in career wins in OVC history. (EIU played in the Summit League for two years when Schmitz was hired before moving to the OVC).
 
SCHMITZ ENTERS HIS 20th SEASON AT EIU
Head coach Jim Schmitz enters his 20th season with the Panther baseball team in 2014, recording a 510-540 record with EIU and amassing a 674-701 career record in 26 seasons as head coach. The three-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year has won four regular-season titles – most recently in 2009 – and has taken the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament on two occasions, both in 1999 and 2008.
 
Schmitz has seen the on-field accomplishments of his players come to fruition as 68 players have earned all-conference accolades including 36 players who have earned first-team distinction. Three players have also earned player of the year honors in Matt Marzec (1998), Pete Pirman (2002) and Jordan Kreke (2009) during his tenure. John Larson also captured pitcher of the year honors in 1999 while Ben Duke (2001) and Brant Valach (2012) have earned newcomer of the year recognition.
 
Under the tutelage of Schmitz, 19 players have been taken in Major League Baseball's First-Year Players Draft since taking the helm of the program in 1995. Eight players have been drafted in the last five seasons, most recently Joe Greenfield who was taken in the 2013 draft. When Tyler Kehrer went 48th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft, he became the highest Panther picked since 1988.