Box Score |
OXFORD, Ala. – After exchanging leads in their series-opening game on Friday night, the Eastern Illinois baseball team regained the lead for the final time following a three-run eighth inning and earned a 7-5 Ohio Valley Conference win over Jacksonville State.
Eastern Illinois improved to 2-14 (1-0 OVC) following the win, while Jacksonville State dropped to 8-9 (0-4 OVC).
Two-out hitting proved to be the difference in the game as the Panthers batted .429 (6-for-14) with two outs, while Jacksonville State finished .125 (1-for-8). The Panthers finished with 13 total hits in the game against Jacksonville State's seven.
The Panthers started out swinging to begin the game as
Joseph Duncan gave Eastern Illinois some early momentum with a lead-off triple in the top of the first.
Dougie Parks followed with a one-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch to put a pair of runners in scoring position for
Matt Albert. Albert roped a double into left to score both Duncan and Parks and gave EIU a 2-0 lead.
Trent Simpson cut the Jacksonville State deficit in half with a solo home run in the second inning and gave the Gamecocks a 3-2 lead in the third inning on a two-run single.
Jacksonville State added a run to their total in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hayden White earned a lead-off walk and quickly came around to score on an Andrew Naismith RBI triple as the Gamecocks extended their lead to 4-2.
After a quite fifth inning from both teams, the Eastern Illinois' offense rallied back to tie the game in the sixth.
Frankie Perrone got the rally started with a lead-off solo home run over the wall in left.
Logan Beaman followed the Perrone home run with a single and moved up to third after a sacrifice bunt and a groundout. With two away in the inning,
Nicholas McCormick came up with a clutch RBI single to plate Beaman and tied the score at four.
Beaman and McCormick connected again in the top of the eighth inning. Beaman led off the inning with a double to give the Panthers a runner in scoring position. Jacksonville State looked as if they would escape the threat getting the next two Panthers out, but McCormick came through for Eastern Illinois with a two-out RBI single. The McCormick single provided a spark for the Eastern Illinois offense as Duncan and
Andrew Curran both followed with an RBI single and put the Panthers ahead 7-4.
Jacksonville State used a pair of walks and an Eastern Illinois' error in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Panthers' lead to 7-5. That would be as close as the Gamecocks would get however as
Brent Stephens pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his first save of the season.Â
Alex Stevenson marked the first man out of the bullpen for the Panthers and held the JSU offense in check as he allowed just one run on two hits in 4.2 innings of relief. Stevenson finished his appearance with five strikeouts and earned his second win of the season.
Duncan (3-for-5) and McCormick (3-for-4) led the EIU offense with three hits each. Curran and Beaman added a pair of hits to the EIU total.
The Panthers and Gamecocks will continue their series on Saturday with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
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