Box Score |
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Butler jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning, but Eastern Illinois outscored the Bulldogs, 10-2, the rest of the game and picked up a 10-6 win on Tuesday. The Panthers scored at least one run from the fifth through ninth innings and knocked four home runs as a team in the game.
Eastern Illinois moved to 9-27 with the win, while Butler dropped to 22-13 overall.
Butler applied the pressure early against the Panthers as Gehrig Parker put the Bulldogs ahead, 2-0, with a two-run double in the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs added to their total later in the inning with another two-run double, this time off the bat of Alex Horowitz and extended their lead to 4-0 after the first.
Dougie Parks led off the top of the second inning with a solo home run to left field and cut the deficit to 4-1.
Butler got the run back in the bottom of the fourth however as Chris Maranto homered to left and extended the Bulldogs' lead back to four at 5-1.
The EIU offense came to life in the fifth inning as
Andrew Curran knocked an RBI triple to right-center field and scored on a throwing error and moved the score to 5-3 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Panthers continued to stay hot on the offensive end and overtook the lead in the top of the sixth. After
Logan Beaman worked a one-out walk, Parks tied the game at five with his second home run of the game, this time a two run shot to right-center field.
Matt Albert followed the Parks home run with a walk and moved up to third on a double off the bat of
Josh Turnock.
Frankie Perrone gave the Panthers their first lead of the game with an RBI groundout.
Curran scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and Perrone hit a solo home run in the eighth as the Panthers took an 8-5 lead over the Bulldogs. After Butler scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, the Panthers added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run home run by Beaman and took a 10-6 advantage into the last half-inning. The extra run support was all
Michael Starcevich would need as he shut down the Bulldogs in the ninth to earn his third save of the year.
Dustin Wilson was in complete control of the Butler offense as he did not surrender a hit over three scoreless innings and struck out four batters for his second win of the season.
Parks recorded his first multi-home run game of his EIU career as him and Curran both finished the game with two hits each to lead Eastern Illinois.
Eastern Illinois will return to Coaches Stadium and open up a six-game home stand on Wednesday as the Panthers host Lindenwood-Belleville at 3 p.m.
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