Box Score |Â
CONWAY, Ark. – Timely hitting and strong pitching lifted Eastern Illinois baseball to their first win of the season, defeating Central Arkansas, 4-2, in their series finale on Sunday.
With the win, Eastern Illinois improved to 1-6 overall, while Central Arkansas dropped to 5-2 on the season.
Freshman right-handed pitcher,
Alex Stevenson, earned his first collegiate start in the series finale at Central Arkansas on Sunday and picked up his first career win. Stevenson was dominant on the mound, as he allowed just two runs in five innings of work and scattered six hits before he gave way to the bullpen for the final four innings.
Brent Stephens and
Michael Starcevich both pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen as Starcevich picked up the first save of his career.
Joseph Duncan got the game started off strong for the Panthers as he hit a lead-off single in the top of the first inning. Duncan quickly moved up into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by
Andrew Curran, and later scored in the inning on a
Dougie Parks RBI single to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Central Arkansas responded in the bottom half of the frame. Keaton Presley singled to lead off the inning for the Bears and found his way to third base following a stolen base and an EIU error. UCA knotted the score on the next play on an RBI single off the bat of Hunter Strong.
Both teams scored one run each in the second inning as the Panthers got their run on an RBI single by
Josh Turnock, with UCA earning their run on an RBI double by Eddie Sanchez.
Tyler Tesmond hit a two-out double to left in the fourth inning that started an Eastern Illinois rally. Turnock,
Nicholas McCormick, and Duncan all followed with three-straight walks as Duncan's walk brought home Tesmond to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Curran provided the Panthers with an insurance run after getting hit by a pitch on the next play to plate Turnock.
The two-run cushion was more than enough support for the Eastern Illinois pitching staff, as the Panthers surrendered just four hits the rest of the way to pick up the 4-2 victory in the series finale.
Tesmond (2-for-3) and Parks (2-for-4) both recorded multi-hit games for the Panthers on Sunday.
Eastern Illinois will look to keep their momentum rolling into their series next weekend at Kansas State.Â
Â
